Real Madrid News
Real Madrid facing fixture nightmare in early 2023 after Club World Cup announcement
On Friday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that the FIFA Club World Cup 2022 will be played in Morocco between February 1 and 11 next year.
Following that announcement, Real Madrid are now facing a torrid run of fixture schedule as they could now be playing as many as 17 matches in the space of less than 60 days across four countries, reports MARCA.
Following the World Cup, Real Madrid will resume their campaign with a La Liga encounter against Real Valladolid on December 30. A few days later, they will begin their Copa del Rey journey before returning to La Liga action against Villarreal.
Soon after that, Los Blancos will travel to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup where they will take on Valencia in the semi-finals on January 11, and should they win, they will play the finals four days later.
Upon returning from the Super Cup assignment, Real Madrid will have a series of fixtures in the Copa del Rey, provided they have progressed, and La Liga until the first week of February when they will be expected to fly to Morocco for the FIFA Club World Cup.
Immediately after they return from the African nation, the Merengues will have a Copa del Rey semi-final on the horizon provided they have qualified as well as the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first-leg tie against Liverpool away from home, which will be followed by a derby against Atletico Madrid.
Real Madrid fixture calendar
- Valladolid vs Real Madrid – Dec 30
- Copa del Rey third round – Jan 4
- Villarreal vs Real Madrid – Jan 7
- Real Madrid vs Valencia (Spanish Super Cup semi-final) – Jan 11
- Spanish Super Cup final – Jan 15 (if they progress)
- Copa del Rey fourth round – Jan 18
- Athletic Club vs Real Madrid – Jan 22
- Copa del Rey quarter-finals – Jan 25
- Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad – Jan 29
- Real Madrid vs Valencia – Feb 2
- Mallorca vs Real Madrid – Feb 5
- FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals – Feb 8
- FIFA Club World Cup finals – Feb 11
- Copa del Rey semi-finals – Feb 15
- Osasuna vs Real Madrid – Feb 19
- Liverpool vs Real Madrid (Champions League) – Feb 21
- Real Madrid vs Atletico – Feb 26
In a span of less than two months, Real Madrid could end up playing as many as 17 matches across four countries – Spain, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and England.
Given that a number of players are returning from World Cup assignments, manager Carlo Ancelotti will need to make use of his entire squad in order to get through this packed schedule in the early parts of the new year.
Arda Guler’s Real Madrid stint has not gotten off to the start he would have hoped to have given the expectation that preceded the transfer.
Having joined in the summer after Real Madrid outbid their competition to win him over from Fenerbahce for a 20-million-euro fee, buzz was high as the winger was expected to slot into the team quite seamlessly, albeit on a rotational basis.
Unfortunately for the 18-year-old, he has been constantly marred by injuries since completing the move.
Reports have stated that after Guler picked up his third injury since his move, Real Madrid have been concerned and want to take things slow with the player to ensure he is fit as soon as possible after an injury to his quadriceps this time.
The Turk is yet to make his competitive debut for the club, and Real Madrid even sacked their medical chief in November, in light of their injury crises since the beginning of the season.
No loan deal for Guler
However, according to Fabrizio Romano in a recent YouTube video, he states that Madrid maintain full trust and patience in the youngster.
Despite his bad luck with injuries, the latest of which he is scheduled to return from after Christmas, the Galacticos have no intention of loaning out Guler to Turkish clubs despite lots of speculation of them doing so of late.
Romano states that Madrid remain firm on not shaking things up too much with the squad, and they want to keep their roster stable, including Arda Guler.
They want to extend their full support and protection to the player as he aims to return to full fitness and finally make his bow for Madrid either by the end of this month or in 2024.
