Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti will make two changes to his side when it hosts Real Betis for a … [+] must win La Liga clash at the Bernabeu late on Sunday night in the Spanish capital.
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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti will make two changes to his side when it hosts Real Betis, for what is a must win La Liga clash at the Bernabeu late on Sunday night in the Spanish capital.
After the Catalans trounced Real Valladolid on Saturday, FC Barcelona now leads its bitter rivals by seven points at the summit putting pressure on Ancelotti and his men to deliver in their last club match before the September international break.
Asked about the deficit at a prematch press conference a few hours before, when it was only four points, Ancelotti said this was just a “detail”.
“It’s a detail, [but] what has affected us the most is not having played at our best. The season is very long, but we are four points behind because we have not played well,” Ancelotti stated.
“Criticism here is normal. We are not worried about that. We are going to have the criticism until May at some points. Whatever happens, happens…,” he also reflected at another point of his sitdown with the press.
With Madrid winning just one of its three outings thus far, and drawing the other two 1-1, Ancelotti explained that he and his staff have “detected” the problem and “hope to have a good response tomorrow”.
“It’s not too complicated, we have to defend better,” Ancelotti said. “The statistics don’t say that we have conceded many goals, but the feeling is that we find it difficult to recover the ball and that the opponent plays too much between the lines.”
Heading into the late night match, Madrid will make two changes compared to the outfit that mustered a stalemate in Las Palmas on Thursday, after going a goal down via an Albert Moleiro strike.
Helping protect Thibaut Courtois’ net, Dani Carvajal returns at right back to line up in defense with Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy.
In midfield, pivot Aurelien Tchouameni provides support to Fede Valverde, who is partnered by a Dani Ceballos that comes in for veteran captain Luka Modric.
Up top, it is the same trio in Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. that has just one goal between them in open play thus far in La Liga’s 2024/2025 campaign.
Real Madrid Vs. Real Betis Starting XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Tchouameni, Ceballos, Valverde; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius