Gareth Bale was expected to make his return to action after three months on the sidelines when Real Madrid hosts Espanyol Saturday, manager Zinedine Zidane has confirmed.
Bale, who has been missing since undergoing surgery on an ankle injury in November, has been named in the squad for Saturday’s contest, when Madrid will look to extend its lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga. And Zidane has confirmed that he intends to have the Welsh forward begin his road back to match fitness ahead of the crucial run-in to the end of the season.
“Bale is back with us now,” Zidane said at his pre-match press conference in Madrid Friday. “He will feature in the squad tomorrow and I’d like to give him some minutes. He is raring to go and get back into things and we’re happy that almost all of the players are back.
“We all know Gareth. He really is key for us. He has quality, speed and we are aware of the damage he can do to the opposition. We’re all happy and him especially as he’s coming back into the fold and getting back to playing. He is really excited.”
Gareth Bale of Real Madrid celebrates after scoring his 2nd goal during the Liga match between Real Madrid and Leganes on Nov. 6, 2016 in Madrid, Photo: Getty Images
While Bale will rejoin the fold, Zidane will be without captain Sergio Ramos, who picked up a knock in Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Napoli in the first leg of its Champions League last 16 tie. Keylor Navas, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema will also be given Saturday’s match off after taking part in midweek.
After a brief blip when its record winning run came to an end last month, Madrid has gotten back on track with five matches unbeaten, including three wins in a row. It meant that Zidane’s men went into the weekend with a one-point lead over Barcelona at the top of the table and still with the luxury of two games in hand.
On Saturday, Madrid will be taking on Barcelona’s city rivals Espanyol. The Bernabeu has not been a happy hunting ground for Barcelona’s second team in recent seasons, having lost there on its last two visits, including 6-0 a year ago. Still, the side coached by former Atlético Madrid coach Quique Sánchez Flores had been on a good run of form, winning three league matches on the bounce prior to last week’s 2-1 loss to Real Sociedad.
Prediction: Real Madrid has continued to pick up positive results while not always convincing throughout the course of 90 minutes. Saturday could be a similar story against an Espanyol side likely to be defensively solid, but which could struggle to trouble Real Madrid’s backline.
Predicted Score: Real Madrid 2-0 Espanyol
Match Time: 10:15 a.m. EST
TV Channel: beIN Sports
Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect
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