Real Madrid will be without several important players for their La Liga collision against Rayo Vallecano in the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday afternoon. Antonio Rudiger is not risking by head coach Carlo Ancelotti after he had come up with a flu earlier during the weekend, and now Thibaut Courtois has also fallen.
Courtois, who has been an undisputed starter in La Liga, is not included in the MatchDay team to be confronted against Rayo, which was confirmed on Sunday morning by Real Madrid. According to Diario as, he struggles with slight discomfort in his right patella, and as a result, Ancelotti has made the decision not to risk him.
It means that Andriy Lunin, who has been counted in the Copa del Rey by Ancelotti, gets a rare start in La Liga. The Ukrainian goalkeeper will appear his fourth competition of the season and he held clean sheets in two of the previous three-the other was a certain 4-0 defeat against Barcelona in the Bernabeu.
The good news for Real Madrid is that the issue of Courtois is very small, and he will be available to set Atletico Madrid in the second stage of their Champions League round of 16 tie on the Metropolitano on Wednesday. Rudiger will also be available because he has already recovered from illness, but Ancelotti has decided that he would rather not use it against Rayo.
Federico Valverde is another Real Madrid player who is struggling with physical problems, but he is included in the MatchDay team to tackle Rayo. However, it is expected that he will not be included in the starting line-up on right back or in midfield, where Lucas Vazquez and Luka Modric are probably the players who are called by Ancelotti.