Eduardo Camavinga, Kylian Mbappe, and Vinicius Junior will return to the Real Madrid starting lineup against Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
Real Madrid will aim to return to winning ways in La Liga when they welcome Atletico Madrid to the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night. Carlo Ancelotti has greeted a positive update on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Eduardo Camavinga is fully fit and ready to start after struggling with fitness issues in the last few weeks. However, the hosts have an injury crisis in the defensive unit, with Ancelotti without all his first-choice centre-backs for Saturday’s squad.
Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba have recently joined Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal on the sidelines. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Ancelotti provided a fitness update on Camavinga and Lucas Vazquez.
The Real Madrid manager said, “We had some doubts regarding the lineup that have been resolved today with the issue of Lucas and Camavinga. I’m going to field a line-up where I can combine quality and collective commitment. The two things are what lead to success during the season and the trick is to combine them. This season we’ve had more quality than commitment and we’re working to equal that.”
Ancelotti also praised Federico Valverde’s versatility, which has helped his team during the injury crisis. He said, “We’re concerned about players getting injured. Valverde always wants to play. Because of the absentees we have, I put him as a pivot or at right-back. This happened in the cup game because Lucas had a slight problem.”
With Lucas Vazquez available, Valverde will return to the middle of the park. Thibaut Courtois will replace Andriy Lunin between the sticks, with Real Madrid lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Atletico Madrid on Saturday. The backline should feature Vazquez, Raul Asensio, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Ferland Mendy.
As for the midfield unit, the fit-again Eduardo Camavinga should pair up with Federico Valverde in the middle of the park. Jude Bellingham will reprise the no. 10 role, with Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo being the two wide attackers. Finally, Kylian Mbappe will lead the line for the home side against Atletico Madrid.
Predicted Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Vazquez, Tchouameni, Asencio, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius Junior; Mbappe
