No Bale in squad for Madrid's clash with Villarreal
Zinedine Zidane has named a 19-man squad to face Villarreal on Sunday, leaving Gareth Bale out for tactical reasons.
Gareth Bale has been left out of Real Madrid’s squad for their clash with Villarreal on Sunday.
Coach Zinedine Zidane has named 19 men in his squad for the visit of Villarreal with the Welshman being the most notable omission along with Luka Modric.
Bale, Modric and Dani Ceballos have been left out of the squad for tactical reasons, while captain Sergio Ramos, Álvaro Odriozola and Karim Benzema sit the game out through injury.
Up front with Mariano and Lucas Vázquez, the French coach has been able to name Vinicius, who could start his first game after having been side-lined for two months with an ankle injury.
“He is training, he's better - much better, he's on the preliminary list. He needed these past two weeks, physically he is a lot better,” said Zidane of the 18-year-old Brazilian in a press conference on Saturday.
Zidane’s squad for Real Madrid-Villarreal
Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas, Courtois, Luca Zidane.
Defenders: Carvajal, Vallejo, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo, Reguilón.
Midfielders: Kroos, Casemiro, Valverde, Marcos Llorente, Asensio, Brahim, Isco.
Forwards: Mariano, Lucas Vázquez, Vinicius.