James, Toni Kroos and Modric: a trio with plenty of triumphs

James Rodríguez returns at midday on Sunday and his previous presence in the centre of the park has coincided with excellent results for Real Madrid. The Colombian has lined up alongside Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in a 4-3-3 system on seven occasions this season, and those outings yielded seven wins, with 29 goals scored (4.1 per match) and only four conceded. They have produced the perfect complement for the BBC with Carlo Ancelotti’s preferred 4-3-3 (the 4-4-2 with James, Kroos and Modric has yielded five wins and one defeat).

“James is going to start the match. He is well,” said Ancelotti on Saturday. The Italian is not obliged to sacrifice any of his four “non-negotiable” players (Isco, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema).

The Colombian, who joined Real Madrid last summer in an €80m deal, has not acknowledged the pressure of the price-tag or his newcomer status in Spanish football: in 33 matches he has produced 12 goals and ten assists. Until his injury, he had recorded numbers which were better than any other debutant in La Liga. And the team have certainly missed him during the nine matches he has sat out – they have won four and drawn one of the nine matches he has missed.

Until James sustained his injury against Sevilla, Real Madrid had won 81% of the matches, drawn 6% and lost 13%. Since he left the field of play with a broken metatarsal, the percentage has been the same for victories and defeats, 44.4%, with 11.2% of their matches ending in a draw.

In addition, Real Madrid score a goal every 31 minutes with James on the field of play. Without him, that drops to one goal every 45 minutes.

His best goal, at Los Cármenes

James makes his comeback against Granada, the team against whom he scored his finest goal in a Real Madrid shirt to date. The goal, a left-footed volley from inside the area, was netted in Real Madrid’s 4-0 win at Los Cármenes in November.

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