**Real Madrid star players Vinicius Junior and David Alaba have been on the bench after respectively suffering from hamstring and knee injuries.**
At a press conference, held after Real Madrid's defeat against Bilbao, Carlo Ancelotti stated "Vini has recovered very well from his injury. He won't play tomorrow's game but he'll be ready for the next Champions League game. Having Alaba back in training has cheered us up a lot, but he still needs one more month, December, before he's ready to play."
Real Madrid has lost five of its last 11 matches in all competitions, ranking four points behind Barcelona.
The Spanish club's manager has come under increasing fire, for what many fans view as an unacceptably poor performance. Although may Ancelotti have a demonstrable CV - including a long list of successes with Madrid and other clubs - speculation in the sports world around whether his job is at risk, continues to mount.
Facing the press, Ancellotti presented a positive attitude to the string of losses, "we're still fighting for every competition. We need to be optimistic, keeping in mind the problems we're having and the problems we've had."
Another key talking point - and individual in the firing line - is Kylian Mbappé. Signing his contract this summer, Mbappé's arrival at Real Madrid created huge expectations that he would take the club to new heights. The reality has turned out different, with the 25-year-old French superstar missing his second penalty in a week during Madrid's match against Bilbao.
In an Instagram post the sportsman wrote qualified the defeat as a “bad result... a big mistake in a match where every detail counts. I take full responsibility for it. A difficult moment but it's the best time to change this situation and show who I am.”
Mbappé will have another chance to quell doubts about his performance on Saturday when Madrid plays Girona.