Brazilian football prodigy has already arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu and French star Kylian Mbappe is on his way. With the addition of two forwards to an already stacked and talented Real Madrid team, the question on the lips of football fans is how Los Blancos will set up next season and how they may adjust to the arrival of the new players. Here’s what we anticipate Carlo Ancelotti will do.
Carlo Ancelotti
Depending on the match and the situation, Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid appears to alternate between three major formations;
4-3-1-2
4-3-3
4-3-2-1
Of these three, Ancelotti favors the 4-3-1-2 formation which has brought the team much success this season. Lineups will be based on the match and the formation Carlo wants the team to use. Let’s start from the back and analyze how they may set up.
Real Madrid potential line up. Image credit; onefootball on X
Goalkeeper
Thaibut Curtois
Goalkeeper Thaibut Curtois will start in goal over Andriy alumni when he returns from injury. He is Real Madrid’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Center Back
David Alaba
The Centre Back pairing will feature David Alaba and Eder Militao as starters when both return from injury with Antonio Rudiger and Nacho Fernandez deputizing for them, acting as substitutes as needed.
Wing Backs
Alphonso Davies
Alphonso Davies will start on the left wing over Ferland Mendy and Fran Garcia while Dani Carvajal plays right back with Lucas Vasquez on the bench.
Davies’s speed and strength on the ball is something that Ancelloti will try to maximize in his team by using the Canadian offensively and defensively.
Midfielders
As Real Madrid tries to phase out club legends Toni Kroos and Luca Modric, the midfield will start the youngsters while Luca Modric comes on from the bench. In a 4-3-1-2 formation, Ancelloti will probably play Aurelien Tchouameni in defensive mid-field with Eduardo Camavinga and Fede Valverde teaming up in central midfield. Luca Modric will be brought in on special occasions as a substitute for Fede Valverde or Camavinga.
Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham who has established himself as a pivotal member of the team will start as a central attacking midfielder acting as the playmaker to create chances.
Attack
Kylian Mbappe
The attack will be a pairing of Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe while Endrick will deputize for Mbappe and Rodrygo for Vinicius as substitutes.
The arrival of Mbappe and Endrick is sure to take some minutes away from current players like Rodrygo, Joselu, and Brahim Diaz.
Endrick
Endrick plays as a striker, a central forward majorly while Kylian Mbappe can play as a central forward and a winger although he mostly prefers the wing so we might see Mbappe drifting to the wing while Endrick plays through the middle as a central forward when the two players are together on the pitch.
In a 4-3-3, Carlo will favor a midfield of Bellingham, Camavinga, and Toni Kroos and a front three of Vinicius, Mbappe, and Rodrygo.
Vinicius Junior
Vinicius and Rodrygo would play wide as right-wing forward and left-wing forward respectively while Kylian would play as a central forward with Endrick as a substitute.
STARTING ELEVEN
Carlo Ancelotti’s starting eleven will most likely look like this;
Thaibut Curtois
David Alaba
Eder Militao
Alphonso Davies
Dani Carvajal
Aurelien Tchouameni
Eduardo Camavinga
Fede Valverde
Jude Bellingham
Vinicius Junior
Kylian Mbappe
The bench will consist of talents like
Andriy Lunin
Antonio Rudiger
Nacho Fernandez
Fran Garcia
Lucas Vasquez
Aurelien Tchouameni
Luca Modric
Joselu
Brahim Diaz
Rodrygo Goes
Endrick
With such a talented starting lineup and a stacked bench like that, Real Madrid will be very difficult to beat. Whatever Ancelloti decides to do and however he decides to set up, some players will always be in the starting lineup as long as they are fit; Vinicius, Bellingham, Mbappe, Alphonso Davies, David Alaba, and Thaibut Curtois.
It’s going to be a lot of difficult decisions for Ancelloti to pick the starters for each game and he will end up giving fewer minutes to youngsters like Arda Guler and even Rodrygo. The thought of this star-studded Real Madrid team will have most clubs shaking in their boots. They are set to dominate La Liga, especially without a Barcelona super team to match their quality. Interesting times ahead for Real Madrid.