A win against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday will seal a spot in the next round of the Champions League for Real Madrid.
Los Blancos bested their Ukrainian opponents 2-1 last week and are eyeing a similar result here, but with a tough meeting with Barcelona coming up at the weekend, Carlo Ancelotti cannot afford to go all-guns-blazing with his star players here.
This is how the boss could set up.
GK: Andriy Lunin – Thibaut Courtois is still dealing with a back problem and there are even fresh concerns that he won’t be back in time for El Clasico.
RB: Lucas Vazquez – With Barcelona on the horizon, Dani Carvajal is going to need as much rest as possible. Battling Mykhaylo Mudryk is the opposite of rest.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – Similarly, Eder Militao could do with a rest to give him a little longer to figure out how to contain Robert Lewandowski. Fortunately for Real, this Rudiger guy isn’t a half-bad backup.
CB: David Alaba – Ancelotti’s veteran presence at the back, it’s hard to see Alaba not starting.
LB: Ferland Mendy – Mendy didn’t play against Getafe at the weekend, suggesting he will come back into the starting lineup here.
DM: Aurelien Tchouameni – Could probably do with a rest but if anybody can keep going strong, it’s Tchouameni. The summer signing has been excellent since he joined.
CM: Eduardo Camavinga – Ancelotti has admitted to having concerns about the youngster’s ability to start matches but, with Dani Ceballos out and Luka Modric needing a rest, he may have no choice.
CM: Toni Kroos – There’s a chance Kroos would be rested for this one if Real had another midfielder available.
RW: Rodrygo – Concerns over Karim Benzema’s fitness have prompted talk over Rodrygo’s ability to fill in at striker, but that shouldn’t be necessary.
ST: Karim Benzema – He’s not fully fit but Benzema should start after sitting out against Getafe. He definitely won’t complete the full 90 though.
LW: Vinicius Junior – Vinicius won his battle of the wingers against Mudryk last week and will be looking to go two-for-two this time around.
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