James gearing up for start against Roma

Colombian left on bench against Celta with Europe in mind

Posted Tuesday, March 08, 2016 by Marca.com

James Rodriguez is targeting a starting berth for Real Madrid's Champions League round-of-16 encounter against Roma. The Colombian was kept on the bench by Zinedine Zidane and thus didn't play a single minute against Celta, his role taken by Isco and Lucas Vazquez.

Although the Frenchman was more than happy with the performances of both those players, he seems to have opted for fresh legs for the Champions League tie. It shouldn't be forgotten that Real Madrid have a two-goal cushion for this game following their exploits at the Stadio Olimpico. Bearing this in mind, selecting James could improve Real's ability to control the match and sit on their lead, thanks to his great passing and link-up play. The number 10 looks likely to line up as a fourth central midfielder or as a playmaker with two forwards ahead of him, positions that are virtually guaranteed to be taken by Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

Doubts over whether to pick Pepe or Varane

The most important game of the season for Real Madrid is just around the corner and Zizou can breathe a sigh of relief when he takes a look in the treatment room. The fact that a player as important as Karim Benzema is injured means the situation isn't ideal, but it could be worse. Other than that, the other big question mark is over the centre-back pairing. Pepe's great performances since returning to injury mean that Raphael Varane's seemingly assured place in the team is under threat.