Journalist Suggests Zinedine Zidane Has Made Crucial Lineup Decision Ahead of Champions League Final

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is believed to have made his mind up on who will start for Los Blancos in their Champions League final against Liverpool.

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is believed to have made his mind up on who will start for Los Blancos in their Champions League final against Liverpool. There's been a big fuss this week in Spanish media, debating over who would get the nod between Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema - and it appears the Welshman has won.

It's been a tricky couple of years for both players for rather different reasons. Bale, on the whole, has performed well in a Madrid shirt, but niggling injuries have halted his progress and hindered his game in the Spanish capital.

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On the other hand, Benzema has been a constant member within the Madrid team ever since he moved from Lyon in 2009, but his goalscoring form under Zidane is questionable to say the least.

However, after a rare period of injury free football from Bale, and some strong performances from the former Tottenham winger, David Maddock of the Mirror claims that Zidane has given him a spot in Saturday's starting line up over his French colleague.

Rumours getting stronger that @GarethBale11 will start for Real Madrid tonight, with Benzema on bench. If so, believe that's good news for Liverpool - Real have looked worse team when Ronaldo plays alongside Bale at times this season. Questions linger about their relationship....

— David Maddock (@MaddockMirror) May 26, 2018

Maddock sees this as good news for Liverpool - with the relationship between Bale and Ronaldo still the talk of the town. Many claim that the two don't see eye to eye, a result of Bale's transfer fee that brought him into the Bernabeu, where he cost more for the club to sign than Ronaldo did.

Though Ronaldo and Bale are both still world beaters in their own right, Liverpool will take as much as they can get, with Madrid expected to edge the encounter in Kiev.