Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is treading a La Liga suspension tightrope ahead of their clash with Alaves at the Santiago Bernanbeu tonight.
The defender is one booking away from a suspension, that would see him miss next Saturday's derby clash with Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano.
However, with Raphael Varane already serving a three game league ban, following his red card against Espanyol last week, manager Saniago Solari is short of options at centre back and has no choice but to start the 32 year-old.
Nacho Fernandez is set to fill in for the Frenchman against Alaves, and against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night, however keeping Ramos fit remains one of Real's primary objectives for the remainder of the season.
He was withdrawn at half time against Espanyol with a calf injury, however the club have said that it has fully cleared up, although their appeal against his booking in that game has been rejected by the RFEF.
