Rodrygo and Eder Militao are in the Real Madrid matchday squad to take on Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
Real Madrid will aim to keep the pressure on Barcelona atop La Liga when they host Villarreal at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday evening. And Carlo Ancelotti has greeted positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Ancelotti had been sweating over the fitness of Rodrygo and Eder Militao this week after the Brazilian duo struggled with minor issues. However, both players are in the matchday squad to take on Villarreal, although they have not trained much this week.
Dani Ceballos is also back after recovering from an ankle injury, with Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba, and Brahim Diaz still on the sidelines. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Ancelotti did not discuss any team news updates.
However, the Real Madrid manager spoke about Arda Guler, who has not played much in recent games. He said, “He has competition (for places) and it’s not easy to find space in the starting 11. He has started twice and is playing a more important role than last year.”
Ancelotti also discussed his squad’s midfield department, saying, “Modrić, Camavinga, Valverde and Bellingham are ball players and I don’t think there is a lack of ball players. Tchoaumeni is very important defensively. We have a lot of variety and that’s all. Right now, we’re not showing all the quality we have, but we’ll show it.”
Real Madrid should line up in a 4-3-3 formation against Villarreal, with Andriy Lunin starting between the sticks again. The backline should feature Dani Carvajal, Aurelien Tchouameni, Antonio Rudiger, and Ferland Mendy, with Ancelotti not taking a chance with Militao’s fitness.
As for the midfield unit, Eduardo Camavinga should reprise the holding midfield role, with Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde joining him in the middle of the park. Arda Guler will make a rare start this weekend, joining Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior in the offensive trifecta. So, Rodrygo will be an option on the bench for the home side.
Predicted Real Madrid XI: Lunin; Carvajal, Tchouameni, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga, Bellingham; Guler, Mbappe, Vinicius Junior
