Real Madrid round-up: Rotations, Mariano, Bale, Florentino, Modric

"There’s nothing unusual in our fixture list being so congested. We have to take it in our stride and we know how important squad depth really is. The squad will be used,” was Lopetegui’s answer when asked about playing five games in fifteen days. Six of Madrid’s players already have 500 minutes on the clock and ten have featured in all six games so far this season. Therefore, LaLiga will mark the return of Courtois in goal, while the injury to Carvajal will make way for Odriozola. Other candidates to be rested are Ramos and Varane, with Nacho waiting in the wings to replace one of them. Kroos, Bale and Benzema appear to be nailed-on starters.

The talk of the town this week has been Mariano after his sweet cake-icing strike against Roma in the Champions League. Real Madrid’s La Fábrica product offers something different to the Madrid attack, with relentless, penetrating runs, aggression and energy some argue is worthy of a place in the starting eleven. Another point of interest considering Madrid’s rivals this evening, Espanyol, is the fact that Mariano played for Los Pericos as a youngster and was the ‘pichichi’ (top scorer) in the 2002-03 season, at eleven years of age, bagging 41 goals.

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 Florentino – the Bernabéu and Ronaldo

The Real Madrid president discussed a number of issues at a club member’s meeting on Thursday, including the overhaul of the soon to be new-look Bernabéu, with: “an estimated  development time of three and a half years, which will be compatible with the sporting calendar. The capacity will not increase, although there will only be 800 new spaces for people with disabilities." Pérez also talked about the high-profile sale of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer, and how the club were resigned to his departure: “We did not want to sell him, but he wanted to go for personal reasons and we understood that, for all the good things he had done, we had to open the door for him.”

Bale

The Welshman has been ‘tearing it up’ so far this season, although his fine form does date back to last season, on 6 May to be precise, and his sweet strike in the 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou. Since then, Bale has scored ten and provided three assists in 12 games, and after a stormy late season and summer he is showing the kind of form he found in the 2013-14 season under Carlo Ancelotti. The Madrid striker also finished impressively after a perfectly weighted slide-rule pass by Luka Modric in the Champions League against Roma, and will sniff another chance for blood with the visit of Espanyol on Saturday evening.

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Modric

According to Spanish newspaper El Mundo on Friday, Luka Modric accepted an 8-month suspended prison sentence for tax fraud. The Croat failed to pay the Spanish Tax Authorities 870,728 euros in 2013 and 2014 from money received for image rights, and will pay back the money he owes, plus a 40% fine of 348,291 euros. Furthermore, he will pay 60,000 euros (250 per day) to avoid the prison sentence.