James Rodriguez Should Be Handed Real Madrid Chance in Derby vs. Atletico Madrid
With the international break over and done with, clubs around Europe will be hoping their players return in a timely fashion and, importantly, free of injury to play in their weekend matches.
Real Madrid already know they haven't been as lucky as they'd wish in the latter regard, with Alvaro Morata returning from Spain duty with a hamstring injury, but as always, one absence means an opportunity for a player elsewhere.
The natural course of action would be to restore Karim Benzema up front in Morata's place, but with El Derbi against Atletico Madrid the big game of the weekend in La Liga, Zinedine Zidane would do well to consider alternatives to make his side more difficult to beat and stand a better chance of victory in their high-profile fixture.
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He should turn to James Rodriguez when visiting the Calderon.
In and win
Top of La Liga they might be, but Real Madrid haven't been anywhere near their best level this season, particularly in the last couple of months. They have laboured to victories, relied on individualism over a team-centric playing style and seen errors in both halves of the pitch prove costly.
James, like any other player, can't be exempt from criticism if he contributes to a below-par performance, but the fact is he has barely featured in La Liga of late; his 20-minute cameo against Leganes last time out was a first league appearance in six games, having been left on the bench unused.
That James should be ignored in such fashion is all the more startling given his performances in the matches directly before he was benched: a goal against Espanyol, an assist against Villarreal and impressive displays against both.
He also set up the late, late winner against Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League group game, while four assists against Leonesa showcased his relentless ability to create chances, albeit against extremely inferior opposition.
It was still James who continually found the way through, but that hasn't been enough to secure him more game time under the boss, who has recently turned to Isco.
Zidane
It has never been enough for Real Madrid to be top of the table, and Zidane will know that more than most. The performances have to change, and if they don't, then it's inevitable the results will—because Los Blancos now face the likes of Atleti, Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla on the road in their next month or so of games.
Zidane must be strong enough to ditch the underperformers from his side for the time being and utilise those who give effective displays on the pitch, even if they are not his favourites. And with injuries hampering Madrid at the moment, finding a cohesive side is even more important.
Marca's Santiago Siguero reported on Tuesday that Gareth Bale and Mateo Kovacic were both almost certainly out of the Atletico match, yet a day later, the Croatian was "all but assured" of a place in the team, according to Marca's Laura Rubio.
Benzema continues to train alone in a bid for fitness, while Sergio Ramos and Casemiro are going to be close calls—but neither has played for some time. Toni Kroos is also sidelined.
Even Luka Modric, now back fit and ready for action, has only one sub appearance at club level under his belt in the past two months.
James, by contrast, is fit, has proved he can impact on games for Real Madrid and has featured for Colombia in the international break—although not to great effect, as his team lost and he was left visibly frustrated.
There's no chance that Isco comes out of the side, but Benzema has a far less clear-cut case for inclusion, so perhaps it's time for Zidane to go back to a plan he initially aired in pre-season: a 4-4-2 for Madrid, just as Carlo Ancelotti utilised to get the best out of both Isco and James for a time.
If Casemiro cannot play (a full 90, at least), Modric and Kovacic can anchor the midfield with the attacking schemers from either side. If fit, Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale will take the attacking roles, while Benzema could step in if he's available.
Atletico Madrid are one of the hardest-working teams in Europe, and there's no room to carry passengers in a fixture of this magnitude.
James
Considering how little he has played, James still has contributed an admirable amount to the team's season.
A shot analysis of Cristiano Ronaldo yielded details on how James blew his team-mates out of the water for chances created on a per 90-minute basis last season. He was top in the squad, and he is in second place this term. In fact, James is on the same level as Bale, Benzema or Morata for final-third impact, as shown in the below table:
| Ronaldo | 6.6 | 1.1 | 7.7 |
| Bale | 4.5 | 1.4 | 5.9 |
| Benzema | 4.1 | 1.4 | 5.5 |
| Morata | 4.0 | 1.7 | 5.7 |
| James | 2.2 | 3.0 | 5.2 |
| Asensio | 2.4 | 2.1 | 4.5 |
| Isco | 1.8 | 2.2 | 4.0 |
| Lucas | 1.8 | 5.7 | 7.5 |
The cries for him to be more involved from his home nation are as one-sided as they are relentless, with Luis Perea the latest to state his belief that Zidane has underutilised the No. 10, per Marca. A whip-round of the Colombian press revealed a similar belief, as reported by Marca's Rubio, Hugo Carrasco and Patricia Terroba.
Atletico are more adventurous in general this season, but the priority for Diego Simeone and Co. will be to not lose the derby first, then go out and attempt to beat Real—and they're more than capable of doing so, given the errors in defence from those in white, the lack of unity in attack and the injuries all over the pitch.
It would be a sad and disappointing way for Zidane to lose his unbeaten run, and the worry would be that it sparks a poor batch of results as well as form, given the tough upcoming fixtures. Real won't get many chances against Atletico; they won't get many opportunities to show their best traits.
They need players in place who are effective at finding solutions in tight spaces, who can time runs into the box, who have everything to prove and are willing to fight for the cause to show they deserve to be involved. James ticks every box, as he has done for some time, and this time, Zidane has got to turn to him.
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