Real Madrid have managed to pick up two consecutive wins in the LaLiga, thereby maintaining pressure on Barcelona but now face a tougher challenge as they travel to England to take on Liverpool in the Champions League.
After the losses to Barcelona and Milan, Real Madrid have picked up wins over Osasuna and Leganes but facing Liverpool at Anfield will be a totally different scenario, especially with so many injuries.
Liverpool’s last defeat came way back in September and they are sitting at the top of the UCL table with 12 points from their first 4 games. Madrid, on the other hand, have lost two out of their first 4 outings and are currently 18th on the table.
Real Madrid have to win this one in order to avoid an early embarrassing exit from the Champions League and based on how the two teams have been playing recently, Carlo Ancelotti will most likely have to rely on individual brilliance to pick up a win on Wednesday night.
Real Madrid’s team updates and injury news:
Carlo Ancelotti will have a nightmare selecting his backline because Alaba, Militao and Carvajal are all out injured and neither of them will be back any time soon.
Thankfully, Lucas Vazquez has returned to training and has been included in the squad and the right-back will come straight back into the starting lineup.
The manager was forced to use 21-year-old Raul Asencio alongside Rudiger at the weekend and with Alaba and Militao unavailable, the Italian will once again have to put his faith in the youngster.
Tchouameni’s injury means Valverde have to play in central midfield alongside Camavinga and Jude Bellingham. And since Valverde will play in the middle of the pitch, Arda Guler will get one more start on the right wing.
After many failures, Ancelotti decided to put Kylian Mbappe into his favoured left-hand side, thereby using Vinicius Jr up front. This slight tweak massively improved Mbappe’s performance as the Frenchman scored a goal at the weekend.
However, the manager has been dealt with yet another injury blow because Vini has picked up a thigh injury and he will be absent for a couple of weeks. This is indeed a major headache for Ancelotti because without the Brazilian international, Mbappe might have to go into the centre-forward’s position once again.
Mbappe has been a massive failure since playing up front which is why the the Frenchman will most likely remain out on the left wing which either Brahim Diaz or Endrick playing as the centre-forward
It is going to be a massively patched up side for Real Madrid and if the first XI cannot come up with the goods, Ancelotti will have no one to fall back to on the bench.
Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Liverpool:
Goalkeeper: Courtois.
Defenders: Lucas Vazquez, Rudiger, Garcia, Asencio.
Midfielders: Valverde, Camavinga, Jude Bellingham.
Attackers: Kylian Mbappe, Brahim Diaz/Endrick, Arda Guler.
