MU Shorts
Bellingham, Brahim start in a 4-4-2: How Real Madrid could line up against Granada
Having reclaimed the top spot in the La Liga table last weekend, Real Madrid will be eager to consolidate their position when they host Granada at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Real Madrid are currently on a four-game winning streak across all competitions, having beaten SC Braga, Valencia, Cadiz, and more recently Napoli.
Despite the spate of injuries affecting the squad, Carlo Ancelotti & co. have found a way to keep the winning momentum going and will be eager to bag another victory at home tomorrow.
Granada, meanwhile, find themselves at the opposite end of the table, but there could be a case of the new-manager bounce, for they recently replaced Paco Lopez with Alexander Medina as their head coach.
Real Madrid go into the game without Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao, Arda Guler, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modric, and Vinicius Jr., all of whom are injured.
Here’s how Ancelotti could set his team up at the Santiago Bernabeu when they take on Granada tomorrow.
Starters
Kepa Arrizabalaga is fit again and has been included in the Real Madrid squad list to face Granada after missing the last four matches. However, Andriy Lunin will again be preferred in goal tomorrow, as was confirmed by manager Ancelotti during his presser.
Ancelotti has a decision to make his team selection as tomorrow’s game could be a good chance for him to rotate. At the same time, with no midweek fixture coming up, the Italian could be tempted to stick with his strongest XI.
As such, the Real Madrid manager could continue with the centre-back pairing of Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba, while Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy should take up the full-back positions on the right and left sides, respectively.
Since the injuries to Camavinga and Tchouameni, Toni Kroos has operated in the pivot midfield position, albeit with support from Federico Valverde. Meanwhile, Dani Ceballos will get another starting opportunity in the injury-enforced absence of Modric.
Jude Bellingham is fit and ready to play despite an injury scare during training earlier today. The 20-year-old Englishman will start in his usual role as the attacking midfielder and pose a threat to the opposition backline.
Ancelotti opted to partner Brahim Diaz with Rodrygo Goes in the attacking department against Napoli earlier this week. Given how the two performed, the manager is unlikely to tinker with the pairing.
Real Madrid Predicted Lineup: Lunin, Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, Mendy, Kroos, Valverde, Ceballos, Bellingham, Brahim, Rodrygo.
Substitutes
Carlo Ancelotti will turn to Joselu to reinforce the attacking department during the game, while young Nico Paz is likely to get more minutes again after scoring his first senior goal for Real Madrid against Napoli.
Captain Nacho Fernandez is likely to come onto the pitch to provide some relief to one of the two centre-backs during the latter stages of the contest. Fran Garcia could replace Ferland Mendy.
Young forward Gonzalo Garcia is another academy talent who could be in for some minutes on Saturday.
Real Madrid are back in action in La Liga tonight as they take on Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu as part of Matchday 5.
Having won their first three league games of the 2026/27 season under new manager Jose Mourinho, Los Blancos fell to their first defeat last weekend, losing 1-0 away to Real Betis.
It has allowed arch-rivals FC Barcelona pull away and open up a three-point lead at the top of the table.
While these are still early days in the campaign, Real Madrid know they cannot afford any more slip-ups, especially considering the red-hot form the Blaugrana are in.
Mourinho’s men did bounce back to winning ways after last week’s defeat, beating Inter Milan 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night, although the performance was not entirely convincing.
As they take the field once more tonight at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid will hope to deliver a strong performance and gather all three points and keep up the pace with the league leaders.
Mourinho has been boosted by the return of five players in Arda Guler, Eduardo Camavinga, Bernardo Silva, Raul Asencio, and Andriy Lunin, who missed the midweek European encounter.
Here’s how the Portuguese tactician is likely to set his team up tonight against Rayo Vallecano.
Defence
Thibaut Courtois was the star of the show for Real Madrid against Inter Milan, making some splendid saves. He will once again hold the key for the hosts as they look for only their second clean sheet of the season.
In defence, changes are unlikely, with Mourinho clearly establishing Ibrahima Konate and Dean Huijsen as his preferred partnership at centre-back, meaning Antonio Rudiger is set to miss out again.
Denzel Dumfries and Marc Cucurella, both of whom have made solid starts to life at the Bernabeu, ought to continue in the full-back positions.
Midfield
Given the absences of some key players, Mourinho was forced to play Trent Alexander-Arnold in the double pivot against Inter Milan – an experiment that was far from convincing.
Now, with the Real Madrid manager recovering his options in midfield, it is expected that summer signing Bernardo Silva starts alongside captain Federico Valverde in the centre of the park.
Eduardo Camavinga, who is also back after serving a suspension, will be an option from the bench, along with Aurelien Tchouameni, who is being eased back slowly after his return from injury.
Jude Bellingham has been one of Real Madrid’s best players in the early parts of the season and will continue in his preferred attacking midfield position against Rayo Vallecano tonight.
Attack
Brahim Diaz got the nod against Inter Milan and gave a good account of himself. However, with Arda Guler back and available after missing the midweek game, the Turkish international should reclaim his spot on the right flank.
On the left wing, Vinicius Jr. will retain his place, but will need to step up and deliver amid growing pressure and frustration within the fans, who booed him at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.
Finally, Kylian Mbappe, who has been in the news for his candid interview, will spearhead the Real Madrid attack.
Summer signing Yan Diomande will once again have to make do with minutes off the bench.
