Earlier today, Real Madrid were dealt a major blow as superstar forward Kylian Mbappe was ruled out of action with a thigh injury.
The French attacker, who joined the club last summer, had been growing in confidence in recent weeks and finding his form.
The 25-year-old was on target last night as Real Madrid beat Deportivo Alaves 3-2, taking his tally for the season to seven goals from nine matches.
As such, the thigh injury, which has now ruled him out for three weeks, comes at an inopportune moment for both Mbappe and Real Madrid.
After all, Los Blancos have some crucial matches coming up against Atletico Madrid and Villarreal in La Liga, and Lille in the UEFA Champions League.
With Carlo Ancelotti now unable to call upon Mbappe for the upcoming three matches, here is how Real Madrid could line up in his absence.
Endrick as the direct replacement
The obvious way for Carlo Ancelotti to replace Mbappe, without disturbing the current system and dynamics in any major way would be to directly swap the Frenchman for Endrick.
The 18-year-old centre-forward has shown his potential in his cameos off the bench in recent matches, even scoring goals on his La Liga and UEFA Champions League debuts.
Endrick could have started last night if not for a slight knock in training. But with Mbappe now unavailable, it might be time for the Brazilian to make his first start.
Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, and Aurelien Tchouameni would be the three starters in the centre of the park.
However, it does appear unlikely that Ancelotti would thrust Endrick into the spotlight in a derby vs Atletico.
Rodrygo in the middle
During the recent international break, Real Madrid forward Rodrygo Goes bemoaned how he is usually asked to play in positions wherever gaps need to be plugged.
And that is what Ancelotti might do in Mbappe’s absence – deploy the Brazilian in a central role. While the 23-year-old has played through the middle in attack in the past, both for club and country, he does not necessarily thrive in the role.
Deploying Rodrygo in the centre-forward role would open the doors for Arda Guler, who has been in good form this season, to operate on the right flank.
Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, and Aurelien Tchouameni would again continue as the three midfielders.
Switch back to the old tactics
The third solution for Ancelotti & co. to cope with Mbappe’s absence would be to switch back to the tactics of last season when the manager used a 4-4-2 diamond formation with only two forwards up top.
Vinicius and Rodrygo would pair up in attack while one of Jude Bellingham or Arda Guler would ideally slot in as the attacking midfielder.
Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Bellingham or Luka Modric would be third midfielder in the centre. It is a system that worked well for Real Madrid last season and recent reports suggested that Ancelotti could revert to it, especially in tough away games.
