Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that Andriy Lunin will keep his spot between the sticks for Saturday's La Liga contest with Almeria.
Lunin kept a clean sheet in Real Madrid's 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao last weekend, with the Ukraine international named in the side due to Thibaut Courtois's long-term knee problem.
Courtois, who underwent surgery on Thursday, is likely to be out for the remainder of the season, which has led to Kepa Arrizabalaga arriving at Bernabeu on loan from Chelsea.
The Spaniard had been expected to come straight into the XI on Saturday, but Ancelotti said during his press conference that Lunin would continue between the sticks.
"He (Kepa) is adjusting very well. He (Kepa) has shown a lot of personality and quality, but tomorrow we continue with Lunin. Then we'll see," the Italian said on Friday.
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Ancelotti also revealed that Eduardo Camavinga was a slight doubt due to an overload issue, but the France international has been named in the squad and could still start.
"He had an overload. Tomorrow we will evaluate him, he will be in the squad list. If the overload disappears, he will play," said the manager when asked about Camavinga missing training.
Almeria will enter the clash off the back of a 2-0 loss at home to Rayo Vallecano, but Ancelotti is expecting his side to face a tough examination this weekend.
"We have seen them [Almeria] play against Rayo. It is a well-organised team, they did not deserve to lose," he said ahead of the trip to Vicente Moreno's side.
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"It's going to be an entertaining match because they want to play, they don't lock themselves in the back. We must repeat the match in Bilbao."
Both Courtois and Eder Militao underwent operations on Thursday to fix their ACL injuries, with the duo now facing long recoveries.
"It is very difficult to know why this happens. Many things have to be evaluated. Militao was very good at the strength level. Courtois, same thing. We had no alarm in this regard. It has been bad luck," said Ancelotti.
Arda Guler is also out, having undergone minor knee surgery, while Ferland Mendy and Dani Ceballos remain unavailable for selection due to muscular and hamstring issues respectively.
Real Madrid squad vs. Almeria:
Lunin, Kepa, Fran; Carvajal, Alaba, Nacho, Odriozola, Vazquez, F Garcia, Rudiger; Bellingham, Kroos, Modric, Camavinga, Valverde, Tchouameni, Paz; Vinicius, Rodrygo, Joselu, Brahim
Matt Law
