Zinedine Zidane insists his focus rests squarely on Saturday’s LaLiga trip to Mallorca despite the controversy over the postponement over ‘El Clasico’ later this month.
Real Madrid’s clash with rivals Barcelona is set to be moved to December after the original clash was called off due to fears over civil unrest involving pro-independence protesters in Catalonia.
But Zidane said his side will simply “adapt” to any new date as he juggles with an injury crisis ahead of the game against opponents whose season is showing signs of coming alive.
Zidane told a press conference: “In the end, I believe the most important thing is tomorrow. We know what has happened in the past two weeks with injured players but we will prepare to play a good game.”
After injury issues piled up during the international break, Zidane confirmed that Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos and Lucas Vazquez will all be ruled out of the trip.
Zidane added: “It is hard for the coach, always playing and never stopping this happening. We are going to have other players and we’re going to try to do well.”
Gareth Bale has been ruled out of the trip to Mallorca (Nick Potts/PA)
Zidane warned against underestimating Real’s lowly opponents, who broke a run of six games without a win in LaLiga with a 2-0 victory over fellow strugglers Espanyol last week.
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“We know that our opponents do not deserve to be where they are in the table,” Zidane added.
Real go into the game with a two-point lead at the top of the table over Barca, but having not looked entirely convincing in last week’s 4-2 win over Granada, Zidane is tempting to hand a rare start to midfielder Brahim Diaz.
Former Manchester City midfielder Brahim Diaz could make a rare appearance for Real Madrid (Martin Rickett/PA)
“It could be the moment but we have to be patient because we have lots of players,” added Zidane. “I know it’s difficult for him because he hasn’t played (this season).”
Mallorca coach Vicente Moreno warned his side’s win over Espanyol last week has given them hope of pulling off a famous win over their opponents.
“Against a team like Real Madrid, it’s normal for the players to be excited,” Moreno told a press conference.
“We have the potential to win and we are going to try to take advantage of it.”
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