Zinedine Zidane is taking a 19-man squad to Italy for Real Madrid’s Champions League Last-16 clash against Atalanta, which will take place on Wednesday night (21:00 CET) at the Gewiss Stadium.
The bad news is the absence of Karim Benzema, who has not yet recovered from his injury and no risks will be taken with the Frenchman.
Zidane is still dealing with a number of injuries, and players missing from the squad also include Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Alvaro Odriozola, Fede Valverde, Eden Hazard and Rodrygo.
Being without a host of big names, it’s given the coach the chance to bring in some young players on the trip to gain some experience in Europe’s biggest club competition. Five youth team players are included in the travelling party – Victor Chust, Miguel Gutiérrez, Sergio Arribas, Antonio Blanco and Hugo Duro.
FULL SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Thibaut Courtois, Andriy Lunin, Diego Altube.
DEFENDERS: Raphael Varane, Nacho Fernandez, Ferland Mendy, Victor Chust, Miguel Gutierrez.
MIDFIELDERS: Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Isco, Sergio Arribas, Antonio Blanco.
FORWARDS: Marco Asensio, Lucas Vázquez, Vinicius Jr, Mariano, Hugo Duro.
All the best Hala Madrid, more ball wishes