What will Real Madrid's starting line-up be against Liverpool?
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This was the UEFA Champions League final last season but both sides are in much worse positions than they were in Paris in May. Los Blancos, under the management of Carlo Ancelotti, were almost passive to the departure of Casemiro and whilst it was known how fundamental the Brazilian was, perhaps the extent to his absence has surprised many inside and outside of the club.
There are holes throughout the team and Madrid have one of the best pragmatists in the game trying to fill them with creative solutions. Ancelotti, whilst occasionally dismissed as simply being a ‘galactico whisperer’ has shown quite regularly an astute tactical brain, especially in-game.
Defensively, there is one issue which is the injury to left-back Ferland Mendy. The Frenchman was excellent at times last season but has struggled for fitness and form throughout this campaign. His absence means that Madrid’s ideal centre-back pairing of David Alaba and Eder Militao has to be broken up with Alaba filling in at full-back.
The Austrian’s replacement in the centre of defence will likely be Antonio Rudiger. The German international has not performed to a consistently high level since his free transfer to the Spanish capital from Chelsea last summer. In fact, Nacho Fernandez’s recent performances would give the Spaniard a chance of starting this first-leg at Anfield.
Midfield, as already hinted at with the summer transfer window sale of Casemiro, is where there are a few key issues for Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti’s midfield of Kroos, Casemiro and Modric was very good last season but, occasionally, became overrun and needed the extra body of Fede Valverde to drift from a narrow right-midfield role and the fairly common second-half introduction of Eduardo Camavinga off the bench. Those two younger players offered a much more dynamic and thrusting presence to the genuinely excellent but ageing starting trio.
Well, for much of this campaign, it has felt like Casemiro’s impact was even greater than was known with both Kroos and Modric declining. The former announcing his retirement at the end of this season and the latter having a very good FIFA World Cup with Croatia in Qatar but struggling to summon the intensity for top level football every three days for nine months, despite the obvious magical flourish, which will no doubt be pleasingly on show in this tie.
The supposed Casemiro replacement, Aurelien Tchouameni, was also excellent at the FIFA World Cup, reaching the final with France as a key cog in their midfield. The former Monaco man has some seriously impressive technical qualities and the ability to read the play well but he is missing from this match due to injury.
Tchouameni’s injury means that Modric is likely to start in the centre of a three, flanked by Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Ceballos. Both Camavinga and Ceballos have shown tactical flaws in their game and Klopp will be keen to but immense pressure on the pair as they seek to protect Modric in the middle. Fede Valverde will be important from the right-hand side to drift in and maintain a solid four without the ball, attempting to match the physicality of the hosts.
Madrid’s stars lie up-front with Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior. Benzema remains the skipper but the Ballon d’Or winners’ early exit and then apparent fall out with the French squad in Qatar has been representative of his season, which has been a lot less impactful than the last one. Having said that, the 35 year-old might just be returning to some of his best form, coming into this on the back of scoring eight goals in his last nine starts in all competitions. He has been rested from the squad in two of Madrid’s last three matches and has missed nine games in La Liga already this season.
PREDICTED XI (4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba; Camavinga, Modric, Tchouameni, Ceballos; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius
UNAVAILABLE: Mendy (Injured), Tchouameni (Injured), Kroos (Injured)
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