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James Rodríguez had yesterday a very good chance to try to convince Zidane and all Real Madrid supporters that he can play more minutes and participate in the important matches Los Blancos have the next weeks.

Zidane included yesterday James in the starting 11, who asked for more minutes in an interview in his country:” I want to play more, but there is someone that decides if I play or not”. The Colombian midfield entered in a line up two months later, but his performance, as almost all the players of the team, was really poor. The statistics demonstrate that he did not play good. In the 71 minutes he payed, he was the player who lost more balls (16) and the one who had the worst percentage in passes, with 80% after going only 36 good passes of 45. Beyond statistics, James was irrelevant in the game and he did not took advantage of the great opportunity Zidane gave him.

The journalist did not doubt asking Zidane, what he thinks about the performance of the Colombian midfielder, and the French manager defended his player:” I do not see him disconnected. He had the same performance as his partners, He played his match and he maybe need more continuity”, Zidane said.

Despite he only played 71 minutes against Sporting Gijón, the Colombian midfielder is the 20th player of the squad in minutes with 569, just ahead Casemiro (409 and injured since September 18), Coentrao with 128 minutes, Mariano with only 45 and the third keeper that has not play any minute.

Los Balncos have play so far 19 matches, where James has been in the starting 11 only 5 games ( Espanyol, Villarreal, Dortmund, Cultural Leonesa and the recent game against Sporting Gijón. We can also say that there have been seven matches that the Colombian player has not play any minute, either by an injury or by a decision of Zidane. James will be again in the starting 11 in the match of Copa de Rey Los Blancos will play the next Wednesday against Cultural Leonesa, but there are many possibilities that in the next regular season match against Barcelona he will not be in Zidane’s line up.

This will not be the fist time that Zidane don’t believe in the Colombian player in the important matches. Last season he did not play in the victory against Barça at Camp Nou where Los Blancos won 1-2. Zidane also did not count with him in the match against Wolfsburgo, when Real Madrid had to come back a 2-0. He also did not play any minute in the final of the eleventh Champions League.

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After the victory against Sporting Gijón Zidane spoke as always in the press conference. The french manager was not happy with the match his team did at Santiago Bernabéu and the only positive thing of the match is the result. Zidane highlighted the opposite team, Pepe’s return, Cristiano and different topics.

Zidane started the press conference talking about what he thinks about the match against Sporting:”It was a very tough match and we could achieve the three points. We must forget this game because we did not play the way we wanted. We’ve made many errors, but we’re happy for the three points, that’s what’s important”, Zidane said.

With Varane’s injury, Pepe returned to the line up after being many time out of the pitch:”He is a very important player for us and he has played a good match after so much time injured. I’ve seen him well and I’m very glad because of his return. He is ready to play with again with us”, Zidane affirmed about Pepe.

Zidane confirmed that Casemiro will return in the match of Copa del Rey against Cultural Leonesa and he maybe could arrive to El Clásico:” Casemiro will play on Wednesday in the game of Copa del Rey. He did not came today because I made other changes, but he was ready. He will play a few minutes against Cultural Leonesa, and maybe against Barcelona”, Zidane said about Casemiro’s recover.

Cristiano scored two goals and in these moments he is the player with more goal in La Liga:”You always ask me the same thing. When he don’t scores people may think that he didi a bad match but today he scores and his performance was really good. We have a very good player in the team”, Zidane said.

Los Blancos will travel to Barcelona next week end to play El Clásico and the journalists did not doubt in asking him if he is worry or not:”I’m not worried, we won won nothing today but we have not lost anything either. We must think in La Copa’s match before El Clásico. The only thing I can say is that we have to keep working”, Zidane said about the match of next week end.

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Real Madrid won the thirteenth match of the regular season at Santiago Bernabéu against Sporting Gijón in a poor game of Zidane’s players. Zinedine Zidane had to make some changes in the line up because of Bale and Varane recent injuries. James, Pepe, Ramos and Benzema returned to the starting 11 and Nacho played in the left back, replacing Marcelo. Isco didn’t start from the beginning thinking in el Clásico of next week end. Sporting Gijón played this match with 5 defenders something that’s not usual in the team managed by Abelardo.

The match started really good for Real Madrid. In the fourth minute Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoreboard from a perfect penalty kick. It was much easier with the first goal and Sporting started to have doubts in defense. Only 10 minutes later Nacho did a great cross with his left foot and Cristiano appeared to score a beautiful goal from a great header. After the second goal, Sporting Gijón had some chances but we could saw great saves from Keylor Navas that prevented the first goal. Los Blancos had really bad minutes just before the first half finished and Sporting scored their first goal in a great counter back finished by Carmona.

In the second half Los Blancos started really relaxed and Sporting Gijón’s football improved with the pass of the minutes. Modric, Kovacic and James could not control the midfield and the team managed by Abelardo started to have the control of the match, playing even better than Real Madrid.

In the last 20 minutes Zidane started to make substitutions and Asensio entered replacing James with the objective of having more possession and Ramos left the pitch replacing Marcelo because the Andalusian has 4 yellow cards and if the referee booked him, he will lose El Clásico. In the minute 82 Sporting Gijón had great chance to draw the match from a penalty kick, but Cop failed it with a very poor shot. Isco entered replacing Modric to play the last minutes.

Los Blancos will go to Barcelona being in the top of the table despite they did not play a good match today. The players manage by Zidane must play much better if they want to have a positive result against a team that have very good attackers as Barcelona.

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There are several Real Madrid players that may leave on winter’s transfer market. Currently there are four players that have options to leave the Club during this period, some could leave on loan and others may defectively leave Real Madrid. Los Blancos will face winter transfer market conditions by the next TAS resolution appeal of the Club because of Fifa’s sanction.

Mariano may go on loan this transfer market because he is not having many minutes this year. The Dominican striker had the opportunity to go on loan in the last summer, but he decided to stay at Madrid. He has only played 45 minutes so far in official matches. At 23, he needs to grow as a player and teams as Sevilla FC are interested in him.

Another player that may leave is Lucas Silva. His contract with Real Madrid does not end until June 2020.After being on loan at Olympique Marseille, a cardiac anomaly has prevented him from competing this season. He is training with the first team but he is not included on Real Madrid list. If his health allows him, he will leave to another team on January.

Martin Odegaard is playing in these moments with Real Madrid Castilla. The Norwegian is a usual in Solari’s starting 11 but the games with his national teams and some discomfort in his knee have prevented him from having continuity. Several Spanish teams are interested in him for an on loan. He will be 18 on December 17, so his departure to another country will not be restricted by FIFA’s regulations.

The last player that may leave is James Rodríguez. His is not having minutes in this part of the season (when many midfielders and forward are injured) and Real Madrid may find a solution. Gareth Bale and Morata’s injuries should give him more opportunities to platy. The role in the next matches against Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund will mark James situation in Madrid. The players is very discomfort with the minutes he is having both sides (Real Madrid and James) should find a solution to this big problem.

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James Rodríguez is currently the four player with less minutes in Real Madrid after Mariano Díaz, Fabio Coentrao and injured Casemiro. The Colombian midfielder has only enjoyed 215 minutes in La Liga in six appearances, 145 minutes in three games in Champions League and 90 minutes in Copa del Rey against Cultural Leonesa.

Last Tuesday James Rodríguez stayed the whole game on the bench against Sporting Portugal, despite Zidane didn’t have available Casemiro or Toni Kroos in the midfield. James Rodríguez is struggling to convince the French manager although there have been several injury problems in the midfield: Casemiro, Toni Kroos or Luka Modric.

Kovacic or Isco are convincing the manager and both are now fixed in the formation. James Rodríguez didn’t even celebrate Benzema’s goal or stood up when Kovacic received a punch, like it’s showed in the TV.

Having this in consideration, some Premier League clubs are thinking on a move to sign the Colombian player. According to The Sun, Manchester United boss, José Mourinho, would like to take on board the playmaker to improve the quality of his squad. The Red Devils will have some competitors because Chelsea are also interested on the Colombian midfielder.

But not only British teams are chasing the Colombian. Inter Milan tried to sign him in summer, as James Rodríguez recognized, and might try again in winter, especially after his poor performance at the start of the season. Juventus also showed some interest in the former Monaco player.

Zinedine Zidane advised James Rodríguez to stay at Real Madrid in press conference before the game against Sporting Gijón. He said it’s not true James is not having minutes, so perhaps the Colombian has his opportunity in La Liga this Saturday. However, the rumours are now triggered and the situation is becoming very difficult for the Colombian star.

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Zinedine Zidane spoke in press conference before the game in La Liga against Sporting Gijón. James Rodríguez situation was the key topic with the journalist because the Colombian playmaker is not enjoying a lot of minutes and there some rumours that he might leave in the winter transfer window.

The French coach wanted to give a piece of advice to the Colombian player: “We open the door to everybody and he’s ready to play, like everybody else. It’s not true that he never plays. If I were James, I’d stay”, Zidane said in front of the media.

Against Sporting Gijón, Varane won’t be available as well. The French defender joins Gareth Bale, who suffered a serious injury in Lisbon: “It’s hard with the injury players. We’re doing great, but it bothers when there are people out, like Gareth, who is going to be out for a long time. The game against Sporting it’s going to be very complicated”.

The French coach is not confident about the game against Sporting despite the Asturias team is in the bottom three: “It’s a complicated game after the last two tough games. We were all tired after these two games and we are going to need some energy tomorrow, but we have recovered a bit. Sporting game is going to be more complicated that what people think”.

Zidane explained also why Varane is ruled out for the game: “We can’t control that. We have to keep going what we are doing. Varane has pain in his knee so we are not going to risk with him”. This means that Nacho and Ramos will be the full backs against Sporting. If the captain sees a yellow card, Ramos will miss El Clásico.

At least, Real Madrid supporters can have some good news because Casemiro and Pepe are back: “They are with us. They’re fine, recovered”, Zidane confirmed in press conference.

The other player who should be in the starting eleven is Karim Benzema: “He has always to pass an exam. Everybody has to do it, but perhaps him more than any other. I don’t know how many years he’s been here, how many goals he has scored and he has always to show it. But this is his daily routine. I told him he has to continue and do the things for him and for the team. After, there will be critics and we won’t change that”.

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Real Madrid v Sporting Gijón is the next fixture Los Blancos have to face at Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday (15:15, UK time). Zidane’s side can widen the gap with Barcelona up to 7 points if they are able to beat Sporting, currently occupying one of the three spots in the relegation zone.

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Real Madrid v Sporting Gijón Preview

Real Madrid are now unbeaten in the last 30 games after winning in Lisbon on Tuesday in the Champions League Group stage to get through the Last 16 Round. Zidane’s side is in one of the best moments of the season after thrashing Atlético Madrid (0-3) in the derby on Saturday securing the first position of the table.

However, not all are good news for Los Blancos. Gareth Bale is injured and will miss the rest of the year with a problem in his ankle. Raphael Varane will miss also the game with pain in his knee. Marcelo is doubtful as he was changed in Lisbon and he might rest against Sporting. Toni Kroos and Morata remain out of the team but Casemiro and Pepe are now recovered.

Sporting Gijón should be an easy target for Los Blancos. The Asturias team is winless in the last 9 games. Now they are in the bottom three, so they need the points to finish their run. Afif and Ndi will miss the game, whereas Babín and Lora are doubts.

Real Madrid v Sporting Gijón Predicted Line Ups

Real Madrid (4-4-2): Keylor Navas; Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Nacho, Danilo; Kovacic, Modric, Isco, Lucas Vázquez; Benzema and Cristiano.
Sporting Gijón (4-5-1): Cuéllas; Canella, Amorebieta, Meré, Lillo; Cases, S. Álvarez, Viguera, Isma López, Carmona; Cop.

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Real Madrid v Sporting Gijón Betting Tips

Real Madrid have won 8, drawn 2 and lost 0 games out of the last 10.
Sporting Gijón have won 1, drawn 2 and lost 7 of the last 10 games.
In the last 10 games, Real Madrid have scored an average of 3,6 goals and have received and average of 1,0 goals.
In the last 10 games, Sporting Gijón have scored an average of 0,9 goals per game and have conceded 2,1 goals per game.
There have been over 2,5 goals in 9 of the last 10 Real Madrid games.
There have been 2,5 goals in 7 of the last 10 Sporting Gijón games.

Real Madrid v Sporting Gijón Prediction

We can only expect an easy victory from Real Madrid. Los Blancos are in great form recently and Sporting should be an easy rival. However, they’ve had some problems with teams like Eibar or Leganés that are also fighting to avoid the relegation battle.

We should expect a lot of goals in the game. Real Madrid average 3.6 goals in the last 10 games and Sporting receive 2.1 goals in average in the last 10 fixtures. Besides, Cristiano Ronaldo has recovered the confidence after his hat trick against Atlético Madrid. Benzema also scored against Sporting Portugal and he would like to improve his numbers in La Liga, where he has only scored four goals.

Sporting Gijón were thrashed last year (5-1) at Santiago Bernabéu. Los Blancos were leading 5-0 already in the half time with the first four goals scored in the first 20 minutes. BBC scored all five goals, whereas Isma López found the net for Sporting. At El Molinón, Real Madrid drew in a goalless game in the Rafa Benítez debut.

Free Betting Tips

Match Prediction

Real Madrid to win 1/16 at Bet365.

Over/Under Prediction

Over 2,5 goals 1/7 at Bet365.

Goalscorer

Benzema scores two or more goals 7/5 in Bet365

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Gareth Bale and Álvaro Morata cannot play until 2017, so Zinedine Zidane has available Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Mariano Díaz. The Dominican player has only appeared in a couple of games this season, so it’s unlikely that Mariano can fill the gap of the injury players.

The normal thing would be to use Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo in the attacking line and four midfielders. So far, Karim Benzema has been criticized for his bad moment in the club. There were supporters asking for more minutes for Álvaro Morata or even sacrifice the French striker for another midfielder. Now, it’s going to be easy for Zizou because Benzema and Cristiano are the only two forwards available.

Benzema started on the bench the derby against Atlético Madrid and also the game in the Champions League Group stage against Sporting Portugal. The French striker entered in the minute 67th and scored the winner in the 87th. Again, Benzema showed his best level in the Champions League becoming the third player still professional in the list of topscorer (48 goals) after Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, equalizing Ibrahimovic record.

After the game, Benzema spoke about the polemic: “People can talk about me, they’ll always talk. If I’m in a bad moment, if I don’t have space in the team, this thing or the other… It’s always the same. This is my eighth season at Real Madrid. I play in a great club and there are also other big players. It depends on me to give everything in the pitch. When I’m out for injury, it’s in my hand to come back and recover the good feeling, and this is what I’m doing little by little. The season is still very long”, Benzema said.

The French player got injured after the game against Legia Warsaw, where he scored another goal. He missed the game against Leganés and he had to recover during the international break. Now he should lead the attack and try to get closer to the numbers of the last season. It was his best season at Real Madrid, scoring 24 goals in La Liga in 27 games and 4 more in Champions League in 9 games. Great numbers for a striker.

This season, Karim Benzema has only scored 4 goals in La Liga -Athletic, Betis, Las Palmas and Espanyol- and two in the Champions League. As Benzema said, the season is very long but he has to take advantage of his position and convince the supporters because this year he has more competitors with Morata, Asensio or Lucas Vázquez at a great level.

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Los Blancos are being really unlucky with the injuries this year. The last one was Gareth Bale in the game in Portugal against Sporting in the Champions League group stage. It didn’t look that bad when the Welshman stayed on the grass and asked for the substitution. It might be just a hit with some Portuguese player. However, Zidane said quickly that was something else and not just the pain for a tackle.

One day after, on Wednesday, Real Madrid made public a statement announcing the injury in the ankle but the club didn’t say anything about the time he had to rest. The statement only said “pending evolution”. Now, the club has published that Bale will need surgery, so he will be out of the pitches around two months, missing El Clásico, Borussia Dortmund or the FIFA World Cup.

In their website, Real Madrid have posted the information: “The Real Madrid Sanitas Medical Services have decided that Gareth Bale will undergo an operation following the traumatic dislocation of the peroneal tendons of his right ankle. The operation will take place at King Edward VII Hospital in London on Tuesday 29th November by doctor James Calder, under the supervision of the club doctors Jesús Olmo and Mikel Aramberri”.

This is a big blow for Zinedine Zidane. The Welshman has been one of the best players so far this season. He has scored 5 goals in 11 appearances in La Liga, only missing the game against Espanyol. In the Champions League group stage he also found the net twice against Legia Warsaw, playing all the games.

Gareth Bale joins Toni Kroos and Álvaro Morata in the medical treatment and both will be out until 2017. Luckily, Casemiro or Pepe are close to return so the defending line has more players. This means that Isco, Asensio, Lucas Vázquez or James Rodríguez will have more chances to have opportunities and Zidane will change the formation. From the classic 4-3-3, he’ll have to use a 4-4-2.

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Isco’s contract expires in June 2018 and Real Madrid bosses have already approached the player to talk about a new deal. However, both parties haven’t met yet to negotiate the extension of the contract and, according to Isco, there is no rush.

The player was asked about this issue after the victory in Lisbon: “I still have this year and the next one. The two of us want to do it. We hope we can fix this”, the Spaniard said after winning the ticket to the Last 16 Round in the Champions League.

Isco’s situation is quite tricky. The player had still to make his Champions League debut but he finally played in Lisbon. This fact triggered the rumours and some clubs were thinking of him for the winter transfer window. Especially, Tottenham Hotspur or Juventus showed interest on him.

At the moment, Isco is not thinking in changing team. According to Marca, the Málaga born player is telling every club that he wants at least €10M per year. Isco was about to leave Real Madrid in August and he had to tell the press in the transfer day deadline that he was not going to leave the club.

With his new role, especially after the game at Vicente Calderón, Isco is happier about his situation. He finally feels the confidence given by Zidane and he’s showing that off in the pitch. With Bale’s injury, Isco will have more opportunities to play in the position of the offensive midfielder behind two strikers –Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo– and show his quality.

Isco knows his quality and his skills. For this reason, he’s going to ask the club for an important pay raise. Real Madrid have recently renewed Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale and Isco wants the same treat. He arrived in 2013 from Málaga with a transfer fee of €30M and he has won, among other trophies, two Champions League in this time. Isco wants to continue and Real Madrid expect him to stay. Do we have a deal?

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