Kepa Arrizabalaga and Toni Kroos will return to the Real Madrid starting lineup against Almeria at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Real Madrid will look to return to winning ways when they welcome Almeria to the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday afternoon. And Carlo Ancelotti does not have any new issues to deal with ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao, and David Alaba remain on the sidelines due to their respective knee injuries. But there is some good news, as Lucas Vazquez has recovered from a hamstring strain and is in the matchday squad.
Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Ancelotti addressed the topic of rotations as games come thick and fast. The media personnel also pressed him on the subject of his goalkeepers.
The Real Madrid manager said, “There are many players who deserve to play and I have to take into account if there is tiredness after Thursday’s game. I have the feeling, after today’s training session, that everyone will recover and the objective isn’t to hand out minutes but to win the games.”
On the goalkeepers, Ancelotti continued, “There’s no such thing as an immaculate goalkeeper. They make mistakes and both Kepa and Lunin have made them. There’s no internal debate. The debate is outside, not inside. There’s no debate here. I choose the goalkeeper and that’s it.”
Kepa Arrizabalaga should feature between the sticks instead of Lunin on Sunday as the goalkeeping rigamarole continues. An unchanged defensive quartet of Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho, and Ferland Mendy will protect the Spanish international.
As for the midfield unit, Ancelotti should make two changes. Aurelien Tchouameni should replace Eduardo Camavinga as the holding midfielder. Meanwhile, Toni Kroos will likely replace Luka Modric.
The veteran German midfielder will join Tchouameni and Federico Valverde in the middle of the park. Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham will reprise his usual role in the offensive third. Finally, there is no looking past Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes as the two “strikers”, with Joselu and Brahim Diaz being options on the bench.
Predicted Real Madrid XI: Kepa; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Kroos; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior
