Real Madrid will face WSG Tirol in Innsbruck, Austria, in what will be their only preseason match, apart from training against Leganés, before LaLiga kicks off next weekend. The Whites will kick off their league campaign against Osasuna on August 19 at the Santiago Bernabéu (9:00 p.m.), and to do so, they will prepare for the match in the best possible way against the Austrian side, which features many new faces.
With a squad full of new faces due to new signings, notable absences, and youth players who are impressing Xabi, the Tolosa-born coach will probably field a very similar lineup on Tuesday against the Rojillos. The injured Mendy, Camavinga, Bellingham, Valverde, and Endrick will almost certainly miss the start of the season. The doubt is ‘Cama’, who is rushing to be fit for the first league game, but the chances are very slim, although he has not been ruled out, due to an ankle sprain he suffered in training.
Real Madrid have been working very hard these days in Valdebebas, and Xabi couldn’t be happier. The same goes for the coaching staff and support team, who have seen how the players have prepared in the best possible way over the last few weeks. On August 4, Real Madrid resumed training with the usual medical examinations for each season. Since then, the team has not stopped and everyone is working hard in training sessions, which now last almost two hours.
New faces in Real Madrid’s starting XI
Xabi’s starting lineup for the preseason friendly against Tirol is as follows: Courtois; Trent, Militao, Huijsen, Carreras; Tchouaméni, Ceballos, Güler; Vinicius, Mbappé, and Brahim.
With Camavinga, Bellingham and Valverde out due to fatigue, the Tolosa-born coach decided to bring Ceballos into the starting eleven, although it remains to be seen whether he will start against Osasuna. Everything indicates that the Uruguayan midfielder will be fit for the league match. On the other hand, Trent gets the nod ahead of Carvajal, who started against Leganés, and Gonzalo once again gets the nod ahead of Rodrygo.
The match in Austria will be a first test before the start of the season, where Madrid fans are placing their trust in Xabi and his team to see Real Madrid return to its winning ways. The Basque coach will be looking to find the right formula to get the team to respond on the pitch and get the fans fired up, just as he wanted on the day of his presentation at the Ciudad Real Madrid.