Zidane and Koeman have very clear ideas - 7M sport

Zidane and Koeman have very clear ideas



Posted Tuesday, January 12, 2021 by Marca.com

Zidane and Koeman have very clear ideas

Ronald Koeman and Zinedine Zidane come into this year's Supercopa de Espana, the first silverware up for grabs this season, with very clear ideas about the teams they will look to reach the final with.

Barcelona take on Real Sociedad on Wednesday, before Real Madrid face Athletic Club the next day and the final on Sunday.

Real Madrid want to win it again after last season, while Barcelona will be looking to use it as something to celebrate after a poor first half of the season.

Zidane has relied on just 14 or 15 players this term, and he doesn't change things too often. But Dani Carvajal's absence will see Lucas Vazquez come in at right-back.

Thibaut Courtois will start in goal, Lucas and Ferland Mendy will be the full-backs, playing either side of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane. Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos will occupy the midfield positions behind Marco Asensio, Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard.

It would be unusual for Zidane to make any changes to the above XI, unless he's forced into it. Hazard will start as he looks to get back to his best, meaning Vinicius Junior will be on the bench again.

Barcelona, on the other hand, come into their semi-final off the back of some good recent form, which has come after Koeman shifted to a 4-3-3, with a very defined midfield of Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets and Pedri.

Sergino Dest, Oscar Mingueza, Clement Lenglet and Jordi Alba are likely to be the back four, as Ronald Araujo is a doubt, while Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele will lead the attack.

Koeman's changes against Granada probably hinted at his XI for midweek, with Messi and De Jong coming off after 65 minutes, and Dembele and Pedri following in the 73rd minute.

The Dutchman doesn't have much of a chance to change, given the injuries his team have.

Both Zidane and Koeman seek to meet again on Sunday in another Clasico, though La Real and Athletic will be tough to overcome.



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