Struggling Real Madrid go to Alavés with out Zinedine Zidane as a result of coronavirus

Image Source : AP Zinedine Zidane
Real Madrid should discover the answer to its current struggles with out Zinedine Zidane on the touchline when it visits Alavés after the coach examined optimistic the coronavirus.
The match at Alavés on Saturday comes after Madrid was dumped from the Copa del Rey by a third-tier aspect that struck an added-time winner enjoying with simply 10 males.
Zidane should keep up a correspondence along with his employees from house, the place in keeping with well being protocols he should self-isolate. The membership introduced on Friday that Zidane had examined optimistic.
Assistant coach David Bettoni, who can be within the dugout at Alavés, stated his boss was “feeling fine.”
“He’s in good spirits, a bit sad not to be with us,” Bettoni stated. “I do my job as an assistant coach and I’m right here to assist Zidane. He makes the selections. He received’t be with us bodily, however he’ll be there to assist us in the course of the recreation and produce his power to the gamers and everybody else.”
Madrid can be with out injured defenders Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal and midfielder Federico Valverde for the match that comes after its worst lack of an up-and-down season through which it has crushed title rivals Barcelona and league chief Atlético Madrid whereas underperforming in opposition to a lot much less gifted groups.
On Wednesday, Madrid turned the newest topflight crew to fall sufferer to a lower-division opponent within the Copa del Rey when Zidane’s bunch slumped to a 2-1 loss in added time on the undermanned Alcoyano.

The humbling loss got here after Zidane had urged his crew to take the match severely. Its poor play had already value it a shot at defending its Spanish Super Cup title and factors within the Spanish league.
Madrid was held 1-1 at Elche and 0-0 at Osasuna in its final two street matches within the league. The slip at Osasuna preceded a 2-1 loss to Athletic Bilbao within the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup.
“Each loss generates a lot of criticism,” Bettoni acknowledged. “We have the experience to know how to respond. Tomorrow, we have the chance to show we are united.”
Madrid’s final loss within the league got here in opposition to Alavés, which upset the defending champions in late November. Lucas Pérez and Joselu Mato scored for Alavés in a 2-1 victory.
But that win at Madrid has been the spotlight of an in any other case dismal season for Alavés, which is on the point of the relegation zone. Last week, the Basque Country membership employed Abelardo Fernández for a second stint in cost to exchange coach Pablo Machín, just for the listless crew to stoop to a 5-0 loss at second-division Almería within the Copa del Rey.
Atlético hosts Valencia on Sunday aiming to extend its league lead after Luis Suárez accomplished a brace with a 89th-minute penalty to clinch a 2-1 victory at Eibar on Thursday.
A six-game successful streak has Diego Simeone’s crew answerable for the title race simply previous the league’s halfway mark. It has constructed a seven-point hole over Real Madrid and has an additional recreation nonetheless to play.
Also on Sunday, third-place Barcelona visits Elche with out Lionel Messi, who will full a two-game suspension after he earned a pink card for hitting an opponent in a 3-2 loss to Bilbao within the Spanish Super Cup ultimate.