Vinicius Junior and Antonio Rudiger will return to the Real Madrid starting lineup against CD Leganes at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Real Madrid will aim to close the gap to Barcelona atop La Liga when they welcome CD Leganes to the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night. Carlo Ancelotti has no new issues to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal are long-term absentees due to long-term knee injuries. In addition, Ferland Mendy, Jesus Vallejo, and Dani Ceballos are on the sidelines. So, the quintet misses out on the matchday squad.
There is another notable absentee from the matchday squad, with Thibaut Courtois struggling with a knock. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Ancelotti confirmed Courtois’s issue while discussing his group’s shape with games coming thick and fast.
The Real Madrid manager said, “Courtois has a slight issue, we’ll have him back in a few days. We’re trying to get Ceballos and Mendy back in time for the first leg against Arsenal. We’ll see. He’s [Vinicius] back and he trained well, he’s in pretty good condition. We have lots of games and I have the option to rotate, although most players are feeling pretty good. You’ll see the lineup tomorrow.”
“The team is in pretty good shape. The players who have come back have had time to recovery. The closing stretch of the season starts tomorrow, we have a lot of games and we have to get it right. We’re in every competition and that increases the responsibility placed on us. Every game could be decisive as we try and get our hands on the trophies we want to win.”
Andriy Lunin will take his spot between the sticks, with Real Madrid lining up in a 4-4-2 formation in front of him against Leganes on Sunday. The backline should feature Lucas Vazquez, Raul Asencio, Antonio Rudiger, and Fran Garcia.
As for the midfield unit, Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni will pair up in the central areas. Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham will start on the flanks, with Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe being the two central strikers against Leganes.
Real Madrid vs Leganes Predicted XI
Predicted Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Fran Garcia; Rodrygo, Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Vinicius, Mbappe