Carlo Ancelotti to rotate heavily as Real Madrid take on Las Palmas

The Whites faced a 3-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid in their last match

By Web Desk
September 27, 2023
Real Madrid's most recent meeting with Las Palmas was in 2018 where they won the match by three goals. — Reuters

Real Madrid will play one of the best defensive side, Las Palmas, tonight at the Santiago Bernabeu in the seventh matchday of the season in La Liga.

With just four goals conceded in six games, Las Palmas, along with Athletic Club, is the best defensive side in the league and will surely create considerable problems for Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid, who are struggling to score at a normal rate this season.

Over the weekend, Los Blancos were handed a 3-1 defeat by city-rivals Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano and many questions were raised on the tactics of the Italian and the performance of some players.

After playing a new 4-4-2 formation all season, the 63-year-old decided to change it to 4-2-3-1, using Jude Bellingham as a striker.

The formation didn’t work as the Whites did not only lose but were exposed in many areas of the game. Loopholes in the defense were visible, they conceded three goals and all of them were headers.

Madrid’s centre-back, David Alaba, was the centre of the discussion. The Austrian footballer was at fault for two of the three goals, leaving his man unmarked which resulted in a goal. Alaba then apologised to the fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, over his performance during the Madrid derby.

However, Ancelotti might just have decided to rectify his mistake as according to one of the most reliable media outlets, the Madrid Zone, the Italian will rotate heavily during tonight’s encounter.

Players like Joselu, Aurilien Tchouameni, and Ferland Mendy will start while Vinicius Junior and Dani Carvajal, who returned from injuries are also likely to start. Madrid will also switch back to the 4-4-2 formation, using Bellingham as the attacking midfielder.

Real Madrid’s likely lineup against Las Palmas

Kepa; Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho Fernandez, Ferland Mendy; Aurelien Tchouameni; Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde; Jude Bellingham; Vinicius, Joselu.

It must be noted that Madrid are living an injury nightmare this season. On September 26, new signing Arda Guler, who recently started training after undergoing knee surgery in August, got injured once again in training and was ruled out for a month.

Other than that, their first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and centre-back Eder Militao have been ruled out till April after tearing their Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL).

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