After losing 2-1 to Athletic Club, Real Madrid bounced back with a 3-0 win over Girona, and they followed that up with three more goals against Atalanta in the Champions League, winning their first game in the competition since Oct. 22 against Borussia Dortmund.
So Real Madrid are riding a high coming into Saturday’s LaLiga fixture against local rivals Rayo Vallecano at the Vallecas. Here are three players on Los Merengues who must shine in order for the Merengue club to snag all three points.
LW Vinicius Junior
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Vinicius Junior is by far the most important player to watch on Real Madrid with Kylian Mbappe out injured and Rodrygo Goes starting in the middle, because as we saw against Atalanta with his goal and assist from out of nowhere, he is the one with the ability to make the difference in one masterstroke.
Although Rayo are in the bottom half of the LaLiga table, any Madridista will tell you that they tend to bring their “A” game against Real Madrid, especially when they are at home in their unique stadium.
Vini made quite the splash in his first game back from injury, and up against the Rayo right-sided defensive axis of Florian Lejeune at center back and European Championship breakout star Andrei Ratiu at right back, the Brazilian international will draw a tough assignment.
But if Vinicius Jr. can be at his sterling best, Real Madrid could run away with this one. He will be the one to take defenders on one-on-one, draw them out on the flank, take tough shots, and clear out space for Arda Guler on the right while offering the most goal threat of any Real Madrid player.
CM Luka Modric
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Veteran center midfielder [Luka Modric is expected to start](https://thetrivelaeffect.com/real-madrid-predicted-starting-xi-vs-rayo-vallecano-for-matchday-17-of-laliga/) for Real Madrid on Saturday against Rayo Vallecano, and Madridistas can expect the world-class 39-year-old to lead the team from a progressive standpoint in midfield against Pathe Cisse and Co.
Modric quietly has three assists this season despite making more appearances off the bench than starts, and he remains one of the most high-quality box-to-box midfielders in Europe offensively and defensively, as a playmaker or carrier.
Rayo Vallecano will want to make this game as tense as possible in midfield with few spaces to operate in between, so Modric has to bring his technical wizardry to find those gaps and facilitate passes to the wingers, Guler and Vinicius Jr.
CB Raul Asencio
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Since becoming a fixture in the Real Madrid starting XI after a season-ending injury to Eder Militao, Raul Asencio has been the most composed defender on the Merengues – and it really isn’t close.
That may come a surprise to just about everyone, but it speaks volumes to how adept the coaches at Castilla are at developing great central defenders. The future will be bright for Real Madrid with Raul and a full set of center backs, but, for now, it’s sink-or-swim for a U23 talent who is still developing/
Raul will have to help the fullbacks a lot, especially the up-and-down Lucas Vazquez, on Saturday. Rayo veteran Alvaro Garcia is liable to bust out for a brace on any given weekend in LaLiga, and Raul is going to have to be calm on the ball against the press and active at supporting Lucas if – or when – he gets beat inside by Alvaro.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.