Hazard surfs the sixth wave

The COVID leave out from the first day of the year to almost one in four footballers First and 25% of the public. The pandemic once again disfigures the League and Madrid may well say so, which lost eight players in the duel against Athletic Y now, PCR to PCR, has recovered three of the five that have fallen in the Christmas week. The Getafe, who did not report cases on the return to work, recorded three on the second day of training. In your case you have hidden namesWho knows if to protect the privacy of those affected or to cover up the plans of Quique Flores until the last minute (follow the game live on AS.com).

Ancelotti’s team gets the game with a full barn on the table, but also with a trickle of infections, true and false, that have forced him to change the forecast day by day. The eight who were missing in San Mamés were healed, but then Courtois, Camavinga, Valverde, Vinicius and, at the last minute, Jovic fell. All were given for lost for the Coliseum duel, but on Thursday Courtois presented two negative PCRs. And on Friday the same thing happened with Camavinga and Valverde. LaLiga considered that they were false positives and therefore authorized the participation of the three in the duel against Getafe (Camavinga, sanctioned, will not be able to be) and prevented Lunin’s debut in a league match. The Ukrainian will have to wait for Wednesday, against Alcoyano, where he played (and lost) his only official match with Madrid. Yes, Vinicius will be missing, second scorer and first assistant to the team and the only outfield player in the squad who has been in all 25 Madrid games so far this season. That’s how essential it has become. Neither will Carvajal, still not recovered from his ailment, nor Bale, the eternally injured.

Only two losses

The situation, in any case, is better than the one the team experienced in Bilbao. There were five starters missing and at the Coliseum, only two (Carvajal and Vinicius). In addition, with the return of Casemiro, the invincible trio from the center of the field returns. Eleven games in the eleven this year and eleven victories for Madrid. And Hazard will start for the third consecutive game, this time in his favorite position, starting from the left. This season he only played the first two league games there and three moments later. You are ready to compete for a place, but not for that one. Ancelotti publicly reserved it for Vinicius.

Courtois, in training before the game against Getafe.

The Getafe He enters the duel for the second time outside of relegation this season. It is still the lowest scoring team in the First Division (12 goals, 15 leads only Benzema), but he has conceded little back with Quique. Only two defeats in ten league games and, yes, the blur of the Cup (5-0 made by Atlético Baleares).

Quique, first azulón executioner of Madrid

Michel had seven defeats in the first seven games, with a very unfavorable schedule (Valencia, Sevilla, Barça, Atlético, Betis…). Quique, with better rivals, has alleviated the situation despite the fact that many of the signings have not helped too much. One of them, Macías, is looking for a way out. Vitolo, as in Atlético, has had injuries left blank. And some essentials from another time, like Nyom, hardly count. Today he may have a chance against Djené’s loss if the coach wants to maintain the defense of five that has gone so well for him, although the subsidiary player Álvaro has more options. Plan B is to move behind four. Mata returns, once his sanction has been served, although this season it has not been relevant: he has only scored one goal. Does not point to headline

Quique Sánchez Flores talks with his players before Getafe’s training session on Saturday.

The Getafe, which has had to return the amount of some tickets due to the cut in capacity, is the team with the fewest scoring opportunities and the second with the least time on the ball. It is also the second that most fouls commits. That remains from the Bordalás era, whose Valencia already leads the ranking of infractions. So Madrid will prepare a close game, with little activity, terrain in which it moves best, to try to beat its neighbor for the first time in the last ten years. Mourinho was the last to fall into the Coliseum. And Quique, the first to beat Madrid with Getafe more than 16 years ago.