Alvaro Arbeloa, Real Madrid’s coach, has left out two defenders from the squad for the La Liga match against Girona, while Ferland Mendy has returned to test his fitness ahead of the Bayern Munich clash in the UEFA Champions League.
Real Madrid are set to host Girona on Friday evening at the Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga, before traveling to Munich to face the Bavarian giants at the Allianz Arena next Wednesday in the second leg of the continental quarter-final, hoping to overturn a 1–2 home defeat in the first leg.
In preparation for Bayern Munich, Arbeloa decided to rest Trent Alexander-Arnold and Antonio Rudiger, fearing fatigue, while he will continue to rely on the main attacking line in today’s match in an effort to temporarily cut the gap to leaders Barcelona to four points.
Arbeloa called up youngster Fortia, who is included in the first-team squad for the first time, in addition to Yaniz, who left a very positive impression in his appearance against Elche. He also included Thiago and Manuel Angel from the youth team.
Read also:
The champion’s mentality... Barcelona’s European suffering explains the secret behind Real’s historic legacy
"No changes"... Real Madrid responds to rumors in an official statement
In goalkeeping, there was a change in the third-choice keeper, as Mister was sent to Castilla, with Javi Navarro called up in his place.
Mendy returned to the squad after recovering from injury, and he is expected to play a few minutes today to assess his readiness ahead of the trip to Munich. Franco Mastantuono is suspended.
Real Madrid squad to face Girona
Goalkeepers: Lunin, Fran Gonzalez, Javi Navarro.
Defense: Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Asensio, Fran Garcia, Mendy, Huijsen, Fortia.
Midfield: Bellingham, Camavinga, Valverde, Tchouameni, Arda Guler, Ceballos, Manuel Angel, Thiago.
Attack: Vinicius, Mbappe, Gonzalo, Brahim, Yaniz.