Real Madridvs.Salzburg

A booking for Lucas Vazquez in the 3-2 win over Atalanta on matchday six paired with Dani Carvajal's season-ending knee injury means manager Carlo Ancelotti will need to experiment again, with no senior right-backs available to him.

Federico Valverde did play there away to Liverpool earlier in the campaign, and young Raul Asencio could fill in there, but he may be needed at centre-back with Aurelien Tchouameni a doubt with a leg injury.

Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga were the only two Real players absent from training on Monday morning, suggesting both will struggle to return in time for this one, and that will have knock-on effects in midfield too.

Fortunately, Luka Modric is available again after serving a domestic ban at the weekend, and the veteran Croat may be paired with Dani Ceballos in the engine room if Camavinga fails to make it.

Also making a return was David Alaba, who got 15 minutes off the bench at the weekend - his first bit of action since 2023, after suffering injury hell with an ACL tear that resulted in numerous complications and setbacks.

In attack, Vinicius Junior will also return to the side after a domestic ban, entering the fixture as Los Blancos' top scorer in Europe this season, with five goals in five games.

Vini Jr will flank Kylian Mbappe in the front three, and the summer signing has had an excellent week, scoring four goals in their three matches over the past 10 days.

Mbappe's form has compensated for Jude Bellingham's slight drop off since his late heroics against Valencia, but there is no doubt that the England international will start here, most likely in an advanced midfield role.

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Valverde, Asencio, Rudiger, Mendy; Modric, Ceballos, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vini Jr

Written by

Andrew Delaney