A pair of historic European giants do battle in the Champions League on Tuesday night, with Real Madrid welcoming Milan to the Spanish capital.
These two clubs have combined for 22 European Cup-Champions League titles, although Madrid have triumphed six times since Milan were last crowned European champions under the tutelage of Carlo Ancelotti in 2007.
Ancelotti faces up against his former club here with a myriad of problems to solve. Madrid’s postponed fixture with Valencia at the weekend means they haven’t been in action since their Clasico drubbing, but there must be some sort of response from the Champions League holders here.
Here’s the starting XI Ancelotti could pick for Milan’s visit on Matchday 4 of the league phase.
GK: Andriy Lunin – Thibaut Courtois is closing in on a return, but Lunin will likely continue between the Madrid sticks until the November break.
RB: Lucas Vazquez – Good luck, Lucas. The converted winger has the unenviable task of taking on Milan’s two-headed monster down their left flank here and will undoubtedly require support from those higher up the pitch defensively.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – The German has been dealing with a minor knee injury which briefly thrust his status for this fixture into doubt, but the latest reports suggest Rudiger will be fine to feature.
CB: Eder Militao – Rudiger’s partner could be competing for minutes once David Alaba returns to the fold, but Militao currently doesn’t have any competition for his position.
LB: Ferland Mendy – Ancelotti could use Eduardo Camavinga at left-back given Mendy’s struggles last time out, but the French left-back has had some time to ditch his Clasico woes from the memory.
CM: Luka Modric – Madrid need their superstar veteran in the wake of Toni Kroos’ retirement. The 39-year-old midfielder can offer his team a semblance of serene control in the middle of the park and should be fresh having enjoyed the weekend off.
CM: Federico Valverde – Madrid’s shuttling midfielder has a big role to play defensively as he’ll be stationed towards the right and tasked with slowing down the persistent surges of Theo Hernandez. He has trained alone ahead of this fixture.
CM: Jude Bellingham – The Englishman quite remarkably hasn’t found the back of the net this season with his role in this team seemingly changing by the game. He could perform a box-to-box function here and have the license to crash the box when necessary.
RW: Rodrygo – The winger is back in the matchday squad following a relatively brief injury-enforced absence. While he’s more likely to enjoy a cameo role off the bench, Ancelotti must be tempted to include him in the starting XI right away given the balance he provides to Madrid’s attack.
ST: Kylian Mbappe – It’s been a pretty slow start to Mbappe’s Champions League campaign, although he did score in Madrid’s 3-1 win over Stuttgart on Matchday 1. The Frenchman endured a frustrating night in the Clasico last time out and will be keen to return to the scoresheet here.
LW: Vinicius Junior – The quest for the 2025 Ballon d’Or has already begun, with Vinicius Junior, feeling tremendously aggrieved by voters, bound to embark on a vengeful mission to claim that elusive golden ball.
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