Ancelotti counts on the return of Lucas Vázquez, Camavinga, Mbappé and Bellingham to face the Rojiblancos.
After overcoming their Copa del Rey difficulties-where Los Blancos had difficulty getting past Leganés to secure a place in the semi-final-the men of Carlo Ancelotti are now a major challenge due to important defensive absence .
Atlético de Madrid is the next in a new edition of the Madrid Derby, a crucial competition match in which Real Madrid has to secure all three points to stay at the top and increase the gap over their close rivals.
This match in particular places the League leaders against the second placed team. It is also worthwhile to remember that Real Madrid Atlético has not defeated at La Liga since December 2021 (during the 2021-22 campaign) when they claimed a 2-0 win with goals from Benzema and Marco Asensio. Since then, Atlético has succeeded in securing a 1-1 draw on each of their competition visits on the Bernabéu.
Who plays for Real Madrid against Atlético?
For this crucial meeting, Ancelotti will regain five players who were absent in the Copa match: Thibaut Courtois, Lucas Vázquez, Eduardo Camavinga, Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham.
However, the coach is still confronted with considerable defensive absences, including David Alaba, Antonio Rüdiger and the long -term injuries of Éder Militão and Dani Carvajal. However, Militão was seen on the training pitch during the last session of the week, and even made light contact with the ball.
With both central defenders missing, Tchouaméni will return from his usual pivotrol – where he played in the Copa match – to work with Raúl Asencio, who will make his Madrid Derby debut. The most important uncertainty in Ancelotti's line-up is on the left: Fran García has a small advantage over Ferland Mendy, which means that the Spaniard is expected to start, while the Frenchman will probably be saved for the next major test of Madrid- The Champions League-Knock-Out TBIN against Manchester against Manchester against Manchester against Manchester against Manchester. City.
In midfield, it is expected that Ancelotti opts for the more physical duo of Valverde and Ceballos to compete against Atlético's de Paul, Barrios and Koke. In the meantime, Modrić and Arda Güler are starting on the bank, unless the Italian coach decides to place an extra midfielder, who would probably come at the expense of Rodrygo. In that scenario, Ancelotti Modrić or, as an alternative, could introduce Brahim Díaz, which offers more defensive working speed, together with attacking bravery.
The head of the attack will be Bellingham, Vinícius, Mbappé and Rodrygo – who together scored 62 of Madrid's 93 goals this season. Of these four, only Rodrygo started against Leganés, while Vinícius came up as a replacement for the second half. Bellingham and Mbappé were both equipped in that competition to be fully prepared for the upcoming luminaires.
For Mbappé this is his first Madrid derby in a white shirt, which missed the previous meeting in the Metropolitano in September due to an injury. In the meantime, Bellingham has a less than favorite record against Atlético, with one win, two draws and two losses in five meetings, and no goals scored against Simeone's side.
Real Madrid's predicted XI starts against Atlético Madrid
Based on the current availability, the likely starting of Real Madrid is eleven: Courtois; Lucas Vázquez, Tchouaméni, Asencio, Fran García/Mendy; Valverde, Ceballos; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinícius; And mbappé.
Important players such as Modrić, Brahim, Endrick and Gonzalo are available to the bank. Beyond the start of eleven, the team includes: keepers Lunin and Sergio Mestre; Defenders Vallejo, Mendy (or Fran García), Jacobo and Lorenzo; midfielders Camavinga and Arda Güler; And ahead Endrick and Gonzalo.
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