Jude Bellingham will make his competitive debut for Real Madrid when they take on Athletic Club at San Mames on Saturday.
Real Madrid will look to begin the 2023/24 La Liga campaign strongly when they lock horns with Athletic Club on Saturday evening. And Carlo Ancelotti is without a few first-team players ahead of the season-opening clash.
Thibaut Courtois is the most notable absentee after the Belgian goalkeeper sustained a potentially season-ending knee injury in training this week. Arda Guler is also nursing an injured knee and will be out for the foreseeable future. In addition, Ferland Mendy and Dani Ceballos are out of the travelling squad due to muscle issues.
Ancelotti spoke about the long-term absentees, Courtois and Guler, during his pre-match press conference. He said, “Yesterday wasn’t a good day for us mentally. We had an injury to a key player, but that happens in football. I want to wish Courtois a speedy recovery and I’m going to put my faith in Lunin, who’s a top goalkeeper. He did really well in the pre-season because he’s a great player and he’s talented.”
“He lacks the experience but now he’ll take everything one game at a time. We’re sad that a teammate has to miss out for a while, but we have to look forward. At the time of the injury we all thought about putting our faith in Lunin. [Guler] is going to have surgery and it’s going to be a fairly short recovery time because he has a small problem. It’s difficult for me to go into the details because of the player’s privacy.”
Athletic Club vs Real Madrid Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats
Courtois’s injury means Andriy Lunin is an automatic pick between the sticks. And Real Madrid will line up in a 4-4-2 formation with a midfield diamond against Athletic Club on Saturday. Meanwhile, Fran Garcia will make his competitive debut for Real Madrid in Mendy’s absence.
The young Spaniard will join Eder Militao, David Alaba, and Dani Carvajal in the defensive unit. So Antonio Rudiger will miss out, with Ancelotti set to resume his central defensive rotation policy in the new season.
As for the midfield unit, the youngsters should take charge, with Ancelotti poised to phase Luka Modric and Toni Kroos out as regulars this season. So Aurelien Tchouameni will be the defensive midfielder. And Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga and Jude Bellingham will join him in the middle of the park.
Finally, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes will be the two strikers for Real Madrid on Saturday. With Karim Benzema no longer at the club, the two Brazilian attackers will shoulder the burden of scoring goals consistently. Meanwhile, Joselu will be the backup striker for most of the campaign.
Predicted Real Madrid XI: Lunin; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Garcia; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr.
