Real Madrid News
Official: Real Madrid squad list for Spanish Super Cup
After dropping points against Villarreal in the league and conceding the top spot, Real Madrid will want to win their first trophy of the season as they travel to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup.
They have been pitted against Valencia for the semi-finals of the competition, and will face the winner of Barcelona vs Real Betis if they qualify for the finals.
Carlo Ancelotti has called up 23 players for the tournament, with David Alaba being the big exception. The Austrian defender has been diagnosed with an injury to the soleus on his right calf.
Rest of the backline is fit, including Alvaro Odriozola and Jesus Vallejo.
Aurelien Tchouameni has been dropped for this competition after picking up a calf injury, too, but it’ll give him some well-deserved rest. The Frenchman has been seen minutes regularly, even after the World Cup, and is nowhere near his usual sharpness.
Castilla central midfielder Mario Martin has been given a chance to travel with the seniors, replacing the Frenchman.
📋✅ ¡Nuestros convocados para la Supercopa de España!#SuperSupercopa pic.twitter.com/W2ulNabM04
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) January 9, 2023
It hasn’t been a good week for Real Madrid, who look all set to relinquish their Spanish league title to arch-rivals Barcelona come the end of the season, following a narrow defeat to the Blaugrana at the weekend.
However, as Real Madrid enter the international break, there is some positive news for Carlo Ancelotti and his men.
As reported by Toni Juanmarti, Barcelona look set to miss out on their two star players in Ousmane Dembele and Pedri due to injury, ahead of the upcoming second-leg semifinal tie against Real Madrid, in Copa Del Rey.
Real Madrid are heading into this game with a 1-0 defeat in the first-leg, meaning they must beat Barça with a two-goal margin in order to book a place in the final. The absence of both Pedri and Dembele, to that end, could be a major boost for Ancelotti.
Pedri, who was expected to return to full fitness for the second leg, has suffered a relapse. It has set his return back to three or four weeks late, meaning the youngster will not return until the April 23 tie against Atletico Madrid.
The situation is not much different for Ousmane Dembele. The explosive attacker is recovering slower than expected and though he was tipped to return in the league game against Real Madrid this month, he remains a major doubt for this Copa Del Rey tie.
However, Barcelona did register a narrow victory over Los Blancos even without these two individuals, so the task is definitely cut out for Ancelotti and his men as they look to exact revenge against the Catalans in Copa Del Rey next month.
