No rest for Casemiro

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane says next week’s match with La Liga title rivals Barcelona will not influence his team selection against Valencia today, even though midfielder Casemiro is one booking away from a suspension.

If Casemiro were to earn a yellow card against Valencia he would be a huge loss to Zidane’s side when they visit the Camp Nou on Wednesday.

“Casemiro is like any other player and we know how important he is to us, but I have to pick my team thinking only about tomorrow’s game,” the coach told a news conference on Saturday.