Roma seem to be on fire atm. I think they have been unbeaten since our game. I am glad Jese scored that second goal because this would have been a heart in the mouth type of game if he hadnt.

I hope Zidane has balls to do the right thing. Play those that make the team better, not those with a bigger name. Lucas played the full game which probably means he wont play a part against Roma which is a shame because e is a damn fine player that allows us to push up our RB further up knowing he will come down and cover

Benzema is still out not sure when he is back. I am assuming he will be out for this return leg because he wasnt back in training. Meaning Mayoral might start a CL game for us. Exciting times for the lad. Both Marcelo and Bale are back meaning they will likely start. The only positions I am unsure of are the RW/LW(depending on where Bale plays) and LCM positions. If Benz is not back its going to be James vs Lucas vs Jese for the forward position and James vs Isco for the other. Knowing Zidane he will likely start both James and Isco because he is alot like Carlo and thats whst Carlo would do.

The full squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas, Casilla and Ruben Yanez.

Defenses: Varane, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo, Danilo Carvajal.

Midfielders: Kroos, James, Bale, Casemiro, Kovacic, Modric and Isco.

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lucas Vázquez and Jesse.

Lets do this!!!

but most probably

It's not about balls... you have to put a starting XI out there that has the potential to compete for the CL title. Kids put out a nice effort and all... but they will get eaten alive against Europe's elite. They don't have the level.

Effort doesn't equal achievement... especially in CL.

The only sub i'd like is to put Casemiro in the deep role and push Kroos to the left.

Navas
Carvajal-Varane-Ramos-Marcelo
Modric-Casemiro-Kroos
Bale-Ronaldo-Isco

I disagree

Lucas and co faired pretty well away at PSG. They are more than capable of compwting with the elite lot. That scrub Roberto contributed to the near manita we suffered in the Clasico

Some kids are ready. Some others are not

Yeah, I second and probably 3rd that disagreement. Watching that line up Sports posted just gives the impression of the left side would be our only avenue of attack since Bale would definitely not stay out wide on the right, leaving Dani to toil an entire wing on his own.

Lucas actually gives genuine width and support with Dani. Is he Joaquin, Figo or even Golden Balls in the making, not really but he honestly is a good footballer.

the risk of playing youngsters in ucl especially if they're not battle tested is that if you lose, u'll get chewed out at by the media, and whichever star you bench now becomes a bit of an unsung hero, even though he may have been playing like crap or just average "oh he should have started such and such, but he kept him on the bench"....however, i'm also of the opinion that a coach should learn to take risks, the big question is when should such risk be taken? i'd rather cristiano play out wide than isco though, i don't know who should play cf. good we have an away win with two away goals, i'd rather we defend in the first half and then if the scoreline's still nil nil, look to catch them on the break in the second half. no need to go on an all out attack, and risk conceding

I say Lucas deserves to start,ready or not, we will never find out if he sits in the bench, it is maybe early for Bojra u start but Lucas could end up replacing what Di Maria did for us(in a way)

he can start against las palmas, we've already lost the league so that's an opportunity to give these kids some shine. we have a two goal cushion so i guess even against roma, its not to dangerous a risk, but i don't want rookies starting ucl games where any little mistake or away goal can cost us....now with the way some of our squad members have been playing, some of these young kids have a good shot. i just hope they don't wilt under pressure or get naive in times u need everyone to defend, like this upcoming roma game

Honestly, Lucas is 24, he isn't some 18 year old, milk still on his face youngster. If he can't handle this level of competitiveness then Madrid is not the club for him.

its really not about age, but experience. this is only his second season in top flight football, and he didn't always start in every espanyol game. playing in front of this sort of crowd, 80 plus thousand that can turn on you any give night is extremely different. we've seen madrid crash the confidence of experienced professionals, guys like cannavaro, off the back of footballer of they year gongs look ordinary.

i like lucas' football, so too jese, mayoral, and all these guys...but in ucl we need confidence and discipline. i'd like us to take a conservative approach against roma. and lucas and all these boys can still start, considering we've got a first leg cushion. i just don't want us to expect this to be an every day thing on european nights. with us at 12 points behind (barcelona will most likely win tomorrow), we can test these young ones in the league games

I get that Tito. I would like nothing better than our senior, more established players to be handling things at the business end of the season but it's either injury or out of form. And if these youngsters or reserve players are performing valiantly and contributing, why not start them?!

Sure, it can break them in pieces if it goes wrong but they can rise to the occasion, the beauty of man I suppose. Only way these guys would get their back broad is if they actually play these sort of games. Is it ideal, not even kinda ideal...

The point i was making is that we will go nowhere in UCL if we can't rely on Kroos to perform at a top level and Isco/James to play better than they are now...  the kids just don't have that level.  So if the goal is to try and win, we need to try and get these guys up to form.  If we're just looking to get experience for kids and hope for a miracle, then sure... go for Lucas, Mayoral and Jesse.  

The only one that i think can actually play a big role in getting us more competitive is Casemiro.  We don't have anyone else that can play the middle like he does in front of the defense... so I hope Zizou sticks with him.  But we still need James and/or Isco to be in decent form because injuries happen and we also need spark off the bench.

Doc wrote:I get that Tito. I would like nothing better than our senior, more established players to be handling things at the business end of the season but it's either injury or out of form. And if these youngsters or reserve players are performing valiantly and contributing, why not start them?!

Sure, it can break them in pieces if it goes wrong but they can rise to the occasion, the beauty of man I suppose. Only way these guys would get their back broad is if they actually play these sort of games. Is it ideal, not even kinda ideal...

lol, to be honest, i know this sounds sinister, but i've never been concerned with how broken they get. my concern is, a broken player can't help the team win. and the team winning is my (probably most fans on here as well) ultimate desire. i agree with sports, if we can't bank on our supposed starters, we'll do nothing in ucl. the less experienced players need to take their opportunities off the bench or perform when they start in la liga.....unless they're ridiculously amazing prodigies, that's always how its done. only way they'll start in advanced ucl stages is injuries or if some of the starters find a way to be even worse than they are and totally abysmal...and in such scenario, the team will definitely be toast against europe's elite

Lucas has never been fazed by an occassion for us. And he has paeticipated in a number of tough games. Sure uf he is put through on goal he might miss a 1v1 because of nerves but he honestly plays with so much confidence. We won the league under Mou because we used the likes if Callejon and Granero. I have never been given an impression that Lucas is not ready. There is nothing about his performances that scream "not ready yet need alottle bit more time). I have seen that in Kovacic' but not Lucas'. He always works hard and brings width and unpredictability to his side/game. You never just see him run with the ball and cross blindly. He always looks up to see who is in a better position. If it were up to me i would play this line up:


Thats a solid side right there with a striker who fights for every ball and does his all to get at the end of crosses.

Borja, Danilo, Casemiro, Kovacic and Lucas need to start this one. Let Modric and Kroos have a breather, and if something goes wrong, we can always sub them in. Marcelo isn't ready yet, and he shouldn't start. Let Danilo take his spot with Carvajal at the other end and then Sub in Marcelo in the second half. If Bale is going to start, then we should play him on the left wing, and Ronaldo up front pairing Borja with Lucas on the right wing.

Our Big Names won this game 2-0, let's give the forgotten heroes a go and see who's better suited for Real Madrid.

So our first team isn't good enough and yet the youngers who proved themselves to play better can't get a go? Get out of here. Make up your mind

Casemiro and Lucas deserve to start. Danilo has been fantastic so far and I wouldn't mind him. He is clearly in shape now and turned it around so far.

proven themselves against whom exactly... have our top XI struggled against middle to bottom of the table teams recently? Nope. Our issue is top teams. Getting a draw or two every 10 games is normal. Every team does that. But continuously coming up short against Barca and Atleti is a problem... i can guarantee you none of the kids are anywhere near the level to compete against players on those two teams. They'll get eaten. The fact that they do well against La Liga fodder is no different than our top 11 doing well against those teams, which they are.

We're going nowhere in CL if we're going to rely on Lucas and Mayoral to perform against the elite. Casemiro? To be seen. His profile is unique. Kroos is so poor at the deep role that he may be an upgrade. Danilo is doing well on the left... but should he play over Marcelo? I'm not so sure.

Pepe should not start over varane. he's been beyond bad this season

Who Varane? You can't be serious... (i think i've said the exact same thing to you regarding players a few times my man).

Mayorla didn't make the squad for Roma.

sportsczy wrote:Who Varane? You can't be serious... (i think i've said the exact same thing to you regarding players a few times my man).

Mayorla didn't make the squad for Roma.

Not Varane. Pepe has been very bad this season

Casemiro should start, he offers us a much better physical presence, can tackle, has good positioning and is never afraid to challenge the opposition players for the ball. Lucas was very impressive against Levante and Celta, but I don't think he is going to be in the starting lineup.

OP updated with the full squad list. Damn shame that our only CF is not picked. Will probably be better off helping the U19 in the CL anyways

I am almost 100% sure we will play a 442 with Bale and Ronaldo up top. Nice to have some speed and strength at least

Sports just a few weeks ago, you were saying entire midfield had to be changed against liga opponents! The so called 11 were struggling against liga opponents.

I must say that it is my fault (mi culpa) that team has been so bad. I've spent majority of this season in Canada and first game I returned to Bernabeu, they had best game of season!! My team needs me!!!

My recommended lineup for this game seeing we don't have a cf is

Navas
Carvajal Varane Ramos Marcelo

Modric Casemiro Kross / Isco
Lucas Ronaldo Bale

James and Jesé as subs

I am watching highlights of our LaDecima season. Bah Gawd the heart in that team. There was no stopping us.

I hope Zidane can inspire us to go on a similar run. We still have 80% of the players from that triumph

Yeah but we're missing Di Maria, CR is not the same player and Isco is a shell of himself. Those were 3 pretty huge contributors. Alonso is better than Kroos too.