Real Madrid vs Granada CF - Ronaldo may be restored to starting line-up

Posted Friday, January 06, 2017 by PA

Cristiano Ronaldo could return to the starting line-up as Real Madrid seek to extend their unbeaten streak to 39 games when they host struggling Granada on Saturday.

Ronaldo was rested for Wednesday's Copa del Rey last-16 first leg against Sevilla but his absence was barely noticed as Zidane's in-form side netted three times before the break in a 3-0 win.

Real's all-time record goalscorer also sat out their previous home match, a 3-2 win over Deportivo La Coruna in December, but he is back in a 19-man squad for the visit of Granada and could go straight into the XI.

Speaking about the decision to rest his star forward, Zidane said: "He's a very intelligent player and I want him to be well for the long term, and having 20 games in 70 days I want him to rest now and again. I see it like that and he sees it like that, and there's no problem.

"Of course he always wants to play, but you always get somewhere by talking about it."

Real have not lost a competitive match since going down to Wolfsburg in the Champions League last April, winning 30 of 38 matches since.

It is a stunning run of results from the European champions but Zidane, who recently celebrated 12 months in charge of Real, played down his influence.

He said: "It (the unbeaten record) is not the most important thing for me. I have the best players and I recognise that it's easier to win with these talented players.

"The record is a result of the hard work that is done day in, day out."

It would be a huge surprise if Real did not continue their record-breaking unbeaten run against a Granada side who are stuck in the bottom two with just one win and nine points this season.

Granada were also beaten by Osasuna - the only team below them in the standings - in the Copa del Rey in midweek, but Zidane knows his side cannot be complacent.

"We're going to approach the match in the same manner as the one against Sevilla. We're going to have an opponent who are going to make things difficult for us," said the Frenchman.

"The only thing we can do is be prepared to have a good game, because playing every three days gives you little time to recuperate and little time to work."

Although he welcomes back Ronaldo, Zidane is without Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Mateo Kovacic and Lucas Vazquez.

Granada are also far from full strength, though, and have seven players unavailable due to injury and African Nations Cup duty.

That will make it even tougher for the Andalusian side at the Bernabeu but striker Alberto Bueno - who spent eight years on Real's books - is still hoping for an upset against a side he admits are "almost unbeatable".

He said in AS: "We're not going to give up on anything, even though we know we're in penultimate place and they're leaders.

"We're really keen to start 2017 with a good result. It's a difficult game but we're heading to the Bernabeu with high hopes. It's one of the most difficult places to go and get points but you need to go there at some stage of the season. This Real Madrid is almost unbeatable."