Brahim Diaz and Ferland Mendy should return to the Real Madrid starting lineup against UD Las Palmas on Thursday.
Real Madrid will look to continue the unbeaten start to the 2024/25 season when they lock horns with UD Las Palmas at Estadio Gran Canaria on Thursday night. And Carlo Ancelotti does not have any new roster issues to deal with ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
There is some good news, as Ferland Mendy is available and back in the travelling squad after missing out against Real Valladolid this past weekend. However, David Alaba, Jude Bellingham, and Eduardo Camavinga remain on the sidelines due to their respective injuries.
Ancelotti did not discuss any injured players during his pre-match press conference but spoke about the fitness issues plaguing his squad. The Italian tactician said, “We get injuries at this time of the season because of the demands of the schedule and there’s no real time to prepare the players for this level of competition.”
The Real Madrid manager continued, “There’s not much time because you have to choose between holidays or work and, obviously, you prefer holidays after 10 or 11 months of work. The intensity is the same in August and it doesn’t drop. Players aren’t ready until November or December and they pick up injuries. Any player who gets injured becomes a problem for everyone and it’s upsetting because teams want to play with their best players.”
Ancelotti also spoke about how he will manage the fatigue of his players. He said, “We’ve got a lot of tools to combat the issue of fatigue. We don’t want to make many changes before the first break and, once we get into the Champions League, we’ll be able to rotate the team a bit because the schedule is a bit more difficult.”
With Bellingham unavailable, one midfield berth is up for grabs. Brahim Diaz should take the spot alongside Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde, with the Moroccan international replacing Arda Guler in the starting eleven. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, and Rodrygo will retain their spots in the Real Madrid attack.
The backline should see one change, with Ferland Mendy replacing Fran Garcia. The Frenchman will join Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, and Eder Militao in the defensive quartet. Finally, there is no looking past Thibaut Courtois between the sticks.
Predicted Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Modric; Brahim, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr
