Real Madrid will be in two minds after watching Barcelona losing 2-4 against Girona on the weekend.
They will definitely be happy watching their rivals fail after dropping points against Real Betis on Saturday. But, they will also be worried about Girona, who have now gone two points clear on top of La Liga.
While the La Liga title race is still very much open, Real Madrid’s focus will shift to the Champions League, where they will take on Union Berlin in the final game of the group stages.
Madrid have already secured first place in the group, and are eight points clear off Napoli, who are second, but they will want to return to winning ways, and end the group run six-for-six.
While Carlo Ancelotti has said he is not thinking about rotating his team too much, some key players will definitely start on the bench keeping in mind fatigue, and the weekend clash against Villarreal.
Defence: Kepa returns, Nacho starts
Kepa Arrizabalaga is expected to return to the starting lineup fold tomorrow after being benched on the weekend for Andriy Lunin, who was putting up superb individual performances in the Spaniard’s absence.
“It is unfair to leave anyone on the bench. Kepa will start tomorrow. Lunin? I can’t start everyone,” Ancelotti said about the situation.
Anonio Rudiger has played in all but one game so far this season for Real Madrid, starting 19 out of the 20. He has also played 540 minutes for Germany across international breaks, and deserves to be rested tomorrow.
Nacho is expected to take over his place in the backline, with David Alaba likely to retain his position as the other centre-back.
Fran Garcia could be given the chance to prove his mettle tomorrow, with a start as the left-back. The Spaniard has three assists in the league this season (three more than Ferland Mendy), but has not started a game in over a month.
Lucas Vazquez will predictably continue as the right-back, with Daniel Carvajal injured till early 2024.
Midfield: First start for Paz?
We expect Ancelotti to revert to classic 4-4-2 tomorrow and rest Jude Bellingham, who was on target once again this weekend against Real Betis.
This opens up the doors for Nico Paz to get his first start in Real Madrid colours. He will take his place on the left side of the midfield-four, while Federico Valverde retains his spot in the lineup, this time playing out wide on the right.
Meanwhile, in the double pivot, we will likely see Toni Kroos and Luka Modric gear up next to each other once again.
Attack: Diaz to continue
Rodrygo came back from the last international break fatigued and with a knock. However, he did not get time to rest with Vinicius Jr injured. Ancelotti could look to start him from the bench tomorrow, though.
In his place, we expect Joselu to take one of the spots in attack, while Brahim Diaz will start next to him, playing a slightly deeper role while supporting the midfield.
Joselu · Diaz
Paz · Kroos · Modric · Valverde
Garcia · Alaba · Nacho · Vazquez
Kepa
Substitutes
Ancelotti will likely be very careful with certain roles due to the lack of reinforcements available in the squad. As such, Vazquez could come off for Vinicius Tobias, who has been called up from Castilla.
Similarly, youngsters like Gonzalo Garcia and Mario Martin could get some minutes off the bench in midfield and attack. The former has played some minutes in the league, while the latter is yet to make his first-team debut.
Dani Ceballos will likely get some time to make an impact off the bench, if he does not start in the first place already.