Andriy Lunin will replace Thibaut Courtois in the Real Madrid goal against LOSC Lille in the UEFA Champions League clash at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Wednesday.
Real Madrid will aim to continue the unbeaten start to the 2024/25 season when they lock horns with LOSC Lille at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Wednesday night. And Carlo Ancelotti has greeted a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Thibaut Courtois is unavailable for the next few games after picking up a hip injury that will keep him out until after the international break. However, Kylian Mbappe is surprisingly a part of the travelling squad to take on LOSC Lille this midweek. Fran Garcia is also in the group after shrugging off a knock.
Meanwhile, Courtois has joined David Alaba (knee), Dani Ceballos (ankle), and Brahim Diaz (leg) on the sidelines. Ancelotti did not discuss Courtois’s injury during his pre-match press conference but spoke about Mbappe’s recovery.
The Real Madrid manager said, “He’s recovered well, very quickly. He only trained individually yesterday, but he didn’t spend a lot of time out, so he hasn’t lost his shape. Today, he’ll do all the training with the group and then we’ll make the best decision together with him, considering that the last thing we want to do is to take any risks.”
Ancelotti continued, “He had a muscle problem. He wanted to travel to play because he feels fine. We’ll just have to see how he trains today and, if he’s 100% and there’s no risk, he’ll play from the first minute.”
Ancelotti will unlikely risk a relapse, meaning Mbappe should be on the bench, with Arda Guler returning to the starting lineup. The Turkish international will join Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior in the final third, with the former leading the line for Real Madrid against LOSC Lille.
Guler’s return means Ancelotti will shift to a 4-3-3 formation, with Luka Modric dropping to the bench. So, the central midfield trifecta will feature Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Jude Bellingham. The backline should see no change, with Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao, and Ferland Mendy taking their spots in the defensive quartet. Finally, Courtois’s absence means Andriy Lunin will start between the sticks.
Predicted Real Madrid XI: Lunin; Carvajal, Eder Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Guler, Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior
