Real Madrid travel to Galicia to face Celta Vigo on Saturday night in the club’s first game after October’s international break.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side have not been entirely faultless this season, struggling to find the necessary balance following the summer arrival of Kylian Mbappe and Toni Kroos’ retirement. However, after a two-week hiatus from the grind of club football, Ancelotti warned: “We’re feeling very good.”
Here’s the lineup which the trophy-laden coach could deploy to ensure that his team builds upon that positive atmosphere.
Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Celta Vigo (4-3-3)
GK: Thibaut Courtois – The confident shot-stopper is in line to make his first start since getting bombarded by missiles at Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano. The Celta Vigo fans will likely be a little friendlier.
RB: Lucas Vazquez – The only senior replacement for Madrid’s injured Dani Carvajal, the 33-year-old is a short-term solution before his contract expires in June.
CB: Eder Militao – When a young Militao turned up at the football school where his dad worked as a coach, he overheard his father say: “I don’t really know if he can play.” Turns out that he wasn’t too shabby.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – When asked if he gets annoyed by accusations of being mad, Rudiger shrugged: “No, because I am a bit mad.”
LB: Ferland Mendy – The French full-back has gone more than two years without registering a single assist. In that time, he has collected nine yellow cards and one red.
CM: Federico Valverde – Ancelotti‘s star pupil. The hard-running Uruguay international is expected to maintain his record as the only Madrid player to start every league game this season.
CM: Eduardo Camavinga – Real Madrid’s fearsome French midfielder made his club debut against Celta Vigo back in 2021, marking the occasion with a goal. Camavinga has only scored once more across his subsequent 146 appearances for Madrid.
CM: Jude Bellingham – “I wouldn’t play for a club that I genuinely didn’t fall in love with,” Bellingham has said in the past. The affection is mutual.
RW: Rodrygo – Despite being a regular in this start-studded first team, Rodrygo isn’t entirely happy with his role. “Often, I’m just filling spaces,” he sighed earlier this season. “Is someone missing there? Put Rodrygo in. Is someone missing on the right? Rodrygo. Is someone missing as No. 9? Rodrygo. That’s it.”
ST: Kylian Mbappe – When Mbappe went to the French academy Clairefontaine as a 13-year-old, he earned the nickname ‘hazelnut’ due to the shape of his shaved head. So far, that moniker hasn’t been transferred into his senior career.
LW: Vinicius Junior – A back problem prevented Vinicius from making the 10,000-mile round trip to Brazil over the last week, allowing him to “get some hard, intense work and rest days” in the words of Ancelotti.
