Xabi Alonso.placeholder image
Xabi Alonso. | Getty Images
Liverpool welcome Real Madrid to Anfield in the Champions League next week.
Xabi Alonso has suggested that Real Madrid could make tweaks to his team when they face Liverpool.
Los Blancos visit Anfield in the Champions League on Tuesday. The Spanish giants are in fine form heading into the game as they top the La Liga table by five points after a 2-1 win over Barcelona in El Clasico last weekend. They have also won all three of their European games in the league phase so far.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have lost six of their previous seven games in all competitions. After winning the Premier League title last season, four successive Premier League defeats leaves them seven points behind Arsenal.
Last season, Madrid failed to win a piece of silverware. They were in the La Liga title race with Barca but tailed off in the closing stages.
And for that reason, Alonso has suggested that Real’s domestic games are taking preference ahead of the matches in Champions League. They face Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu tomorrow. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Madrid boss Alonso said via Mundo Deportivo: "If we lose that concentration even a little, we'll drop points, and we don't want that to happen.
"In the Champions League you can drop points and then recover them. In La Liga it's not like that, it's a marathon, we're on a good run and we don't want to slow down. I'm thinking about Valencia and Rayo. Valencia won at the Bernabéu last year, we can't relax. Corberán is a coach who prepares his teams well and Valencia has quality with good players. We have to be alert because sometimes you can let your guard down after a big win.”
Alonso also expressed his concern for the number of games that some of his players have been racking up because of Real’s hectic schedule. Talisman Kylian Mbappe has been Madrid’s most-used player so far.
The former Liverpool midfielder added: "I'm always concerned about the workload, about not pushing the players too hard. You also have to be aware of the effort and demands they're under. There comes a time when you have to create those spaces for some players more regularly, but you have to understand the right time for everything. With Kylian, it's been like that so far, but we'll see what the future holds.”
Madrid will travel to Anfield without captain Dani Carvajal. After the Barca victory, the right-back was forced to have knee surgery. It means that Trent Alexander-Arnold could start when he returns to Liverpool after leaving for the Spanish capital in June.
On Carvajal’s injury, Alonso said: "It was the worst news after the match. Carva played 20 minutes, he did very well after his calf injury, he competed, and on Monday morning it was a surprise to receive the call from the doctor. We'll miss him, for sure, because he's very important in our day-to-day operations. It seemed like we could count on him again, and now he'll be out for six to eight weeks. We're expecting a key player."
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