Jude Bellingham and Luka Modric will return to the Real Madrid starting lineup against Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez on Thursday.
Real Madrid will be eager to extend the recent winning run when they lock horns with Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez on Thursday night. And Carlo Ancelotti has greeted a positive update on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Jude Bellingham is available and in the travelling squad after serving a suspension this past weekend against UD Las Palmas. But Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao, and David Alaba remain on the sidelines due to their respective knee injuries.
While Courtois is closing in on returning to action, he has not regained complete fitness. So, he remains unavailable. Meanwhile, Ancelotti did not provide any fitness updates during his pre-match press conference. But he spoke about two players who did not start against Las Palmas, Luka Modric and Arda Guler.
The Real Madrid boss said, “Luka is a footballing and Real Madrid legend. It’s up to him to make the decisions for next season. I said what I thought in the last game. Modrić didn’t warm up for the game because a young player such as Arda can warm up, not play and nothing happens. But with Luka I can’t do that. He has won five Champions League titles and he’s a legend of the club. When I’m sure he’s going to play during the game, he warms up. The player knows this.”
On Guler, he said, “Arda is coming along very well every day. He’s getting used to our intensity after several months of injuries. He’s doing well physically now. He’ll get minutes, but we have to be patient with him. I understand that he’s under a lot of pressure and I understand that a whole country, Turkey, wants to see Arda play for Real Madrid. He’s 18 years old and he’ll get time to play here.”
Modric should return to the starting lineup, taking his place in the middle of the park alongside Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde. Jude Bellingham will complete the midfield unit, reprising his usual advanced role. Meanwhile, there is no looking past Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes as the two attackers.
Andriy Lunin should retain his spot between the sticks ahead of Kepa Arrizabalaga. As for the defensive unit, Ferland Mendy should replace Fran Garcia. But the rest of the backline should remain intact, with Antonio Rudiger, Nacho, and Dani Carvajal featuring in front of Lunin.
Predicted Real Madrid XI: Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Modric, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr.
