Dani Carvajal, Nacho, and Luka Modric will start when Real Madrid and Barcelona meet in the Supercopa de Espana final on Sunday.
Real Madrid will face Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final on Sunday at the King Fahd International Stadium. Los Blancos won the trophy last season and will hope to achieve the feat once again when the two rivals meet later today.
The Merengues have enjoyed a fine run of form against their arch-rivals in recent meetings, losing just twice in the last six meetings against Barcelona. Carlo Ancelotti will want his side to continue their impressive form against the Catalan giants.
Real Madrid will be without the services of David Alaba and Aurelien Tchouameni because of injuries. Both players have picked up a knock on their calf and have been left in Madrid to continue their recovery.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti confirmed in his pre-match press conference that star striker Karim Benzema has been training well. And the Frenchman has fully recovered from the knock that ruled him out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Furthermore, the Real Madrid manager added that Eder Militao, and Eduardo Camavinga have recovered from their respective problems and are training normally.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats
“Benzema is back. That fills us with confidence heading into the second half of the season. He looks motivated and is training well. He’s a key player for us. The squad has done well to fill his boots early in the season but he’ll be hugely important going forward.”
“We’re always concerned when we have injuries. We just have the two guys we’ve left in Madrid and Lucas Vazquez. Militao and Camavinga have recovered well and will train no problem at all. It’s tough to recover from extra-time but we’ll be fine in time for the game.”
Los Blancos are expected to shape up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Thibaut Courtois in goal. Dani Carvajal is set to start as the right-back, with Ferland Mendy on the left. It remains to be seen whether Ancelotti is prepared to throw Militao right back into action following his recovery. Ideally, Nacho should partner Antonio Rudiger at the heart of the defence.
In the midfield, Luka Modric will be expected to play the anchor role in the absence of Tchouameni. Federico Valverde and Toni Kroos are likely to partner the Croatian international in the middle of the park.
Kroos will look to create opportunities for his side with his penetrative passing from the deep and Valverde will add defensive cover and drive to the midfield. Karim Benzema is all set to lead the line against Barcelona, with Brazilian duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes lining up as the white forwards.
Predicted Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Nacho, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Kroos, Modric; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius
