Real Madrid go into the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League with many players out, which will affect Carlo Ancelotti‘s starting eleven. The Italian coach did not want to reveal the starting lineup, but he did give several clues that lead us to assume which players will start.
Doubts about Valverde
Carlo Ancelotti did not want to reveal the form of Fede Valverde and whether he will be ready to start against Atlético Madrid. He did confirm that the Uruguayan will train with the group for the first time this afternoon: “Yesterday (Sunday) he trained very well on his own”. Today “he will train with the team and then we will decide whether he can play or not”.
Carlo Ancelotti is not usually so ambiguous with this type of player: he would normally have said that he would play if he saw that the player was in good condition, but he has preferred to be cautious, a sign that the Uruguayan is just about ready for the match.
In the event that Valverde is unable to play, he has ruled out Asencio’s playing at right back, which suggests that Lucas Vázquez will occupy this position if Fede does not arrive in time.
Doubts in midfield
In addition to the loss of Ceballos, Bellingham is also suspended. Although he did not want to reveal anything about the starting eleven, he did reveal that there would be no changes to the team’s system.
Ancelotti says that the loss of the Englishman “is not going to change the idea we have of how to play”. “We are not going to reinforce the midfield, we have to maintain the same idea”.
On the other hand, he has also stated that for the starting eleven “we have to take into account players who have been resting, such as Asencio, Camavinga”. With this information on the table, everything suggests that Camvinga will be in the midfield with Tchouaméni and that Brahim will be Bellingham’s substitute.
On the other hand, as we have mentioned, he rules out Asencio as a right back, and from his words we can infer that he will be Rudiger’s teammate at the back.
He doesn’t trust Atlético de Madrid
At the press conference, Carlo Ancelotti emphasized the equality of the tie, and ruled out the possibility that it could be decided at the Santiago Bernabéu. “It’s an even tie, it’s going to be decided in the second leg.” “We can’t think about taking a big lead tomorrow, it’s not possible. The opposition are very competitive and it’s going to be even until the end.”
In the last league game, Real Madrid dropped three points against Betis, and Ancelotti said that it would be impossible to beat Atlético Madrid and blamed the players for a lack of intensity, something he has repeated on numerous occasions this season and which seemed to have been forgotten given the team’s dynamic in recent games. Ancelotti hopes that last Saturday’s performance was just an accident. “There was a lack of attitude against Betis, hopefully it was an isolated case”.
Real Madrid have a good part of the season at stake in tomorrow’s game and in the second leg next Wednesday. Elimination in the Champions League round of 16, and against Atlético de Madrid, could be a blow with fatal consequences, and Ancelotti knows it. Real Madrid has a bad run of results against Simeone’s team, who seems to have got the measure of the Whites. We will see if in Europe he is also capable of giving Real Madrid a hard time, or if he succumbs to the European champions.