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On Sunday, Real Madrid will be hosting Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu for the fifth matchday of the La Liga season. Real Madrid will be looking to extend their perfect record this season when they take on Real Sociedad.
Before the break for international competition, Los Blancos had a perfect record of four victories in a row in the league. Their most recent match resulted in a 2-1 victory, which was achieved thanks to a late winner scored by Jude Bellingham.
At the Bernabeu, all eyes will once more be on the England international, while Carlo Ancelotti is getting ready to welcome back Dani Ceballos into the team for the first time this season. All eyes will be on the England international.
Ferland Mendy has resumed his training, but he will not be ready to play on Sunday. Arda Guler and Vinicius Jr. still have a ways to go before they can return to the pitch. Both Eder Militao and Thibaut Courtois have been missing for a considerable amount of time.
Real Madrid might find themselves in a position where they are behind their fiercest rivals in the league after tonight’s match between Barcelona and Real Betis. If this happens, they will have an uphill battle against Imanol Alguacil’s squad. Keeping all of these in mind, this is how Ancelotti may organize his squad for Sunday’s game.
To begin with
In goal, Kepa Arrizabalaga seems to be the obvious favorite in Thibaut Courtois’s absence, with Andriy Lunin once again being the backup option despite playing the first two matches of the season. Courtois’s absence will force Chelsea to play without their primary goalkeeper for the remainder of the season.
Since Dani Carvajal and Fran Garcia continue to play their positions as the two full-backs on the right and left sides of the field, it is quite doubtful that there would be any rotation in the defensive unit. In the meantime, the combination of center defenders David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger need to be kept together.
When it comes to choosing his lineup, Ancelotti is going to have a difficult time making decisions on the midfield position.
Because of his dominant play and the team’s lack of a natural replacement for him in the position of defensive midfielder, Aurelien Tchouameni is very certain to start at the base of Carlo Ancelotti’s diamond formation in the middle of the field.
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Ancelotti might opt to rest both of his experienced midfield superstars, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, for the crucial UEFA Champions League match that will take place the week after this one.
As a result, Real Madrid should play Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga in the two inside positions in the center of the park.
Jude Bellingham is a lock to start for the Merengues in the attacking midfield position, where he will be looking to add to his current goal total of five and continue his sensational start to life in Spain. Bellingham is a British international who moved to Spain in the offseason.
Due to the absence of Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo Goes and Joselu will likely start in attack against Real Sociedad. This is because the two players complement each other well.
Kepa, Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, Garcia, Tchouameni, Valverde, Camavinga, Bellingham, Joselu, and Rodrygo are the players that are projected to start for Real Madrid.
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Ancelotti is likely to resort to his most experienced players if there is a need for some control in the game. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are expected to make an appearance off the bench at some stage during the match.
Since his return from AC Milan, Brahim Diaz has not had a significant amount of playing time, so he will be keen to make the most of this chance.
Since Dani Ceballos has successfully completed his comeback from injury, it is possible that he may make his first appearance of the season soon.