Kovacic looked good in preseason. James was playing very forward for a midfielder in Reims match, more like a 10. Anyway that was against a very weak team. This is our first match of the League and we are playing away from home against a team that is very tough to beat at home.
Modric being out is a huge blow hope we didnt get off to another slow crap start in la liga ... also very surprised and happy that ronaldo is getting alot of deserved rest no need to be rushed back
Similar to 2014/15. He was a CM but played much more advanced than the others. So the idea that he was "successful" in that position is a stretch. I agree that with Casemiro available, it could work. But I'd rather we see what Kovacic has to offer. He was good in preseason and Modric isn't getting any younger. We need to have his backup/replacement getting developing with minutes.
Was Kovacic really good in preseason? I watched all the games. Talented player and I like him a lot but his deficiencies still remain. So who's our midfield three?
Posting after almost 10 years here though have been following the forum in shadows forever! Need to get off to a flying start in the league. With whatever preseason action i have seen, we are going in the right direction. Zidane has succeeded in installing a good team spirit since he has taken over last season. It just that the players need to believe they can beat anyone home or away, week in week out if they play as a team. We have enough individual talent on the team. I would love to see fearless attacking football this season i.e you score 1, we score 2-3 in return!
I wish more of the summer was spent acclimating James into the formation. I'm glad we got Asensio established and settled, but he wasn't going to be an €80M headache on the bench. Don't get my wrong, I think the kid is the next big spanish superstar, but we knew that when he came back from Espanyol. We didn't need to see if he could play LF/LW, he did it for a year on loan. What we really needed to find out was whether or not James could adapt to LF/RF, because right now he's not going to be getting minutes at CM ahead of Isco, maybe he could ahead of Kova. So now we're starting the season with him still in limbo.
To be honest I'm worried a bit by Keylord's absence. I thought Navas-Casilla for GK looked good but Casilla didn't impress me in preseason. I hope we don't put ourselves in positions to "test" him until Navas is back. Anyway Casemiro, Kroos, Bale and Morata are obvious starters, I can't decide who should be the remaining two players but I'll go with James and Asensio. James made some lovely passes in the last game and I feel we need that to start the game strong in first half, and although Modric will be missed but Kroos gives me enough confidence to rely on him & Casemiro to control the midfield in this game. Asensio should be fine working on the flank & interchanging positions with James, but I think Zidane will eventually decide to play Lucas instead of Asensio.
Real Sociedad isn't going to be an easy first round, so I think we need to go with the best XI we have available to us. Morata Asensio --------------- Bale Isco --- Kroos Casemiro Marcelo --- Ramos --- Varane --- Carvajal Casilla Subs: Kovacic, Lucas and James. Agreed with @Aimar 21 about Casilla, he has looked shaky in pre-season, so I hope he sorts himself out.
La Liga should absolutely be the club's priority this season. Barca has had far too good of a run in recent times. Hopefully we'll start on the right foot. Enough with your revisionist history! http://tinyurl.com/jgcfdgg
Anoeta is always a tricky fixture and we are without CR, Modric and Benzema. Isco will probably take Modric's place in midfield, Lucas and Morata instead CR and Benz. Can't see Asensio starting. Hope we start off on the right foot.
You really think zizou will change from the 4-3-3 he kept playing last season? I would be surprised tbh. I see a Casemiro, Kroos, and Kova mid. James might start for Ronaldo (or Lucas might...) with Asensio or Lucas coming in on a tired Sociedad D.
I'm surprised people are saying Kovacic had a good pre-season. Did he really? From what I saw he was average at best. I don't trust him to start a difficult away game, especially with some of our big guns missing. Also, agree with Eddie but didn't wanna say nothin'.
I actually kind of forgot about Isco :O, I would think Zizou will start him with Toni and Casemiro. Bring in Kova when Sociedad are tired if we need to considering his dribbling style, if only his end game was on point. I'm getting a funny feeling that Lucas starts this one ahead of Asensio and James....
We need someone in midfield to drive the ball forward. Usually Modric does it for us. In his absence Kovacic is the best option we have. Isco can do it too. So, either of these two can get the job done. But both of them tend to over dribble IMHO.
My preffered lineup for this match: Asensio- Morata -Bale Kova -Casemiro- Kroos Marcelo-Ramos-Varane-Carvajal Casilla Kovačić on the left side because I love the impression that Asensio and Kova left on me. I'd love to confirm if they have the amazing synergy that I think they have. Bale isn't at full fitness. Subs : Isco for Kova 50-60 minutes into the game. James for Bale 60 mins into the game. Mariano for Morata 70 mins into the game. Would love to see Mariano take on a tired side.
La Real didn't have a good preseason, these are their last 5 games: Bayer Leverkusen 2 - 0 Real Sociedad Real Sociedad 1 - 1 Eibar Middlesbrough 0 - 0 Real Sociedad Burnley 1 - 1 Real Sociedad Heerenveen 0 - 2 Real Sociedad Real Sociedad starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Rulli; C. Martinez, Gonzalez, I. Martinez, Berchiche; Illarramendi, Bergara, Prieto, Vela; Juanmi, Agirretxe As you can see the results are nothing impressive but since it's the first game of La Liga vs Real Madrid and not a friendly they will be extra motivated. It could be a tricky game but we are more than good enough to get the 3 points. We can't lose points early in the season.