Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has stated that he will not be resting players with an eye on the Champions League final against Liverpool. Real face us at Kiev on May 26 but the Frenchman is not looking at that match now and is concentrating on the task at hand in La Liga.
The La Liga side have four games before they face us while we play just two Premier League games. Real are not even fighting for the La Liga title as that has already been won by Barcelona.
When asked if he’d be resting his players for the final, Zidane said (quoted by Liverpool Echo):
“No, not at all. I’m not going to think about that. If that were the case, there’d be no point playing tomorrow or in the our four or five remaining games. If a player isn’t at 100%, though, he won’t play. But as for the rest, they’ll play as always.”
Zidane was also asked if his players would be looking to avoid injuries in the remaining games.
“We can’t think about that. We have to focus on the game and on playing with intensity. It’s true that this year, because the title is already decided, there is less expectation, but that’s normal. Before the match it’s like that, but when the game starts I don’t think that’ll be the case.”
Madrid would be facing Barcelona today and that should be a decent test for the La Liga side as they look to pick up some silverware this season by retaining their Champions League crown.
Playing more games in such a short span of time will be a problem for Real but after the Barca game, their only real test would be the Champions League final against us.
We do have a tough game against Chelsea before we finish our Premier League season against Brighton. Hopefully, we can seal our top-four spot by beating the Blues and start our own preparations for the Champions League final against Real, which should be a cracker.
