Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti should only have to contend with the loss of one infirm player for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final with Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening.
Los Blancos came away from the Allianz Arena with a 2-2 draw to their name last week, where Andriy Lunin donned the goalkeeper's gloves, but Thibaut Courtois made his long-awaited comeback from knee struggles in the weekend's La Liga triumph over Cadiz. meaning that ex-Bayern centre-back David Alaba (ACL) is the solitary man on the sidelines for the newly-crowned La Liga champions.
However, Ancelotti has not deemed Courtois ready for two games in the space of a week just yet, confirming in his pre-game press conference that Andriy Lunin would keep his place in goal.
Eder Militao - another knee victim - is slowly building up his minutes too, but he is still not operating at 100%, so Antonio Rudiger and Nacho Fernandez should form the central pairing for Los Blancos on Wednesday.
Lucas Vazquez started the first leg with Dani Carvajal suspended, but the latter is now primed to bomb down the right flank, while Ferland Mendy will no doubt come back in for Fran Garcia on the opposite side.
The weekend's success over Cadiz saw Dani Ceballos, Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga start in midfield, but the trio will now cede their spots to Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde and Toni Kroos, who experienced a frosty reception on his return to the Allianz Arena last week.
Vinicius Junior's first-leg brace took him up to 30 goal contributions in the Champions League since the start of 2021-22 - an unrivalled record - and the Brazilian will link arms with compatriot Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham in the attacking third.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Kroos; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior
> Click here to see how Bayern could line up for the second leg
Ben Knapton
