Leganés - Real Madrid: team news and starting line-ups

Real Madrid face the relative ignominy of a Monday night fixture as they travel to Leganés, a slot reserved for the division’s also-rans and those not operating on the European stage.

Leganés face Real Madrid at Buturque

It is a measure of how catastrophic this season has been for the reigning European champions: those who suggested they would not miss the 33-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo have been left with egg very much on face as the lustre of three consecutive Champions League titles has faded as rapidly as the form of many of the Portuguese’s former teammates.

And while Ronaldo remains on the prowl on the grandest stage and has more or less wrapped up another league title to add to his laurels, Real have crashed out of Europe, were knocked out of the Copa by arch-rivals Barcelona and can only now watch as the Liga champions saunter towards defending their title over the remaining weeks of the season.

Legañes have never beaten Madrid in league competition but have been successful in the Copa del Rey, knocking their neighbours out a couple of seasons ago and beating them 1-0 at Butarque in the last 16 earlier in the current campaign.

Leganés team vs Real Madrid

Cuéllar; Bustinza, Siovas, Omeruo; Silva, Vesga, Pérez, Nyom, Eraso; Carrillo, Braithwaite.

Real Madrid team vs Leganés

Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Valverde; Isco, Benzema, Asensio.

Leganés vs Real Madrid: suspensions and injuries

The Cucumber growers will have to do without the midfield wiles of Óscar Rodríguez, who is on loan from Madrid and prohibited from playing against his parent club, while Kenneth Omeruo, Alexander Szymanowski and Recio are all doubts.

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Zinedine Zidane has opted to leave Sergio Ramos out despite his return from suspension and is still without Vinicius Junior, Thibaut Courtois and Mariano. Fede Valverde, Marcos Llorente and Dani Ceballos have all been included to beef up the Frenchman’s midfield options while under-19 keeper Diego Altube will have a taste of the big time from the bench.

Leganés vs Real Madrid: what the managers said

Mauricio Pellegrino: “We want to beat them because they are a big team, a complicated rival and it would mean to test us against one of Europe’s greatest. It will be a very complex match. We will try to play better every time. That is our objective, does not matter who the rival is.”

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Zinedine Zidane: “I'm expecting to see opponents that are keen to beat Madrid and a motivated and aggressive side because they're having a good season. They're playing some good stuff, they're not just all about aggression and defensive solidity. I'm expecting to see the best of Leganés tomorrow night, that's why we're going to have to perform very well if we're to get the points.”