Homemade alert

Casemiro is once again in a compromising situation, but one that is not unknown to him. He is one yellow away from completing the cycle and, therefore, being sanctioned with a match. The bad news for him and Ancelotti is that the next two games are against two direct rivals who are just behind in the standings: Real Sociedad and Atlético de Madrid, both seven points behind the leader (the rojiblancos with one game less).

Therefore, Carletto will have to make the difficult decision to line him up for the meeting in San Sebastián and, therefore, risk losing it for the derby, or give it rest and reserve it for the game against Atleti. Casemiro has gone through both tessitura. Last season he played the 90 minutes against Sevilla with four yellow cards the week before, precisely, playing the derby at the Bernabéu. However, in 2019/2020, Zidane decided not to play a minute against Valencia so that he would be available against FC Barcelona in the Clásico in the second round.

Camavinga, with four yellows, has the same problem. He has seen them in the 374 minutes he has been in the league, at an average card every 93. The Frenchman is not such an indispensable player, so he could be the alternative to Casemiro at the Reale Arena, even if this means missing his first duel against Atlético de Madrid. Valverde or even Kroos, who already played in that position last year, are the other two candidates to replace the pivot.