Real Madrid have got a really big season ahead of them and they got off to the perfect start as they beat Athletic Club 2-0 away from home. They will want to replicate that when they go away again to Almeria this weekend.
Carlo Ancelotti is now in his final season as Real Madrid coach and he is going to want to depart with more silverware. His chances of doing that have been damaged in recent weeks with the ACL injuries for both Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao.
Against Almeria, we are going to see Ancelotti’s slightly new-look Real Madrid side which would be together (he hopes) for the bulk of the season given the severity of those aforementioned injuries.
Here is the team that Ancelotti could choose to get another three points on the road in La Liga.
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – Set to make his Real Madrid debut, Kepa has been brought in on loan from Chelsea in the wake of Courtois’ injury over a week ago. He’ll take the place of Andriy Lunin.
RB: Dani Carvajal – Still a crucial part of this Real Madrid, this may be the final year where Carvajal is the most important right-back at Real Madrid given there have been links with right-backs during the summer.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – Coming into the starting XI after Eder Militao’s injury, there is a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of Rudiger this season.
CB: David Alaba – Having converted really successfully to being a centre-back, Alaba is a crucial part of this Real Madrid team under Ancelotti and will continue in that way.
LB: Fran Garcia – Having returned from Rayo Vallecano, Fran Garcia seems to be the first-choice left-back with Ferland Mendy still trying to come back from injury.
CM: Fede Valverde – One of the most versatile players in football, Valverde will play in a number of different roles this season but he should be trusted in midfield here.
CM: Aurelien Tchouameni – Having been given the start over Toni Kroos against Athletic Club, Tchouameni could be starting to definitively replace the German.
CM: Eduardo Camavinga – Similar to Tchouameni, it seems that Camavinga is starting to phase Luka Modric out of the starting XI with the Croatian set to start on the bench more frequently.
AM: Jude Bellingham – He has settled into life incredibly well at Real Madrid by the looks and he got his first La Liga goal against Athletic Club playing in this slightly advanced role.
CF: Rodrygo – Ancelotti seems content with this new system in which he effectively used two wingers as strikers, and that means that Rodrygo is set for plenty of minutes. He scored last weekend and should start again.
CF: Vinicius Jr – In his new more narrow role, Vinicius is still set to terrorise every defence he comes across as he continues his rise into being one of the best forward players in the world.
