Four days after losing its third Champions League match, an injury-plagued Real Madrid must host Getafe in La Liga.
Four months into the 2024–25 season, Real Madrid already has double the defeats (4) than it had all of last season (2). Carlo Ancelotti's men came up short against Liverpool in the Champions League, suffering a decisive 2–0 loss. The match was the second time in five games that Los Blancos failed to get on the scoresheet.
Real Madrid's night at Anfield went from bad to worse when Eduardo Camavinga suffered a muscular injury in the biceps femoris of his left leg. The midfielder now joins Vinícius Júnior, Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, David Alaba and Aurélien Tchouaméni in the infirmary. Rodrygo returned to training though, giving Ancelotti's side a much-needed injury boost.
Despite its Champions League struggles, Real Madrid is still very much in control of its La Liga title defense. The Spanish champions trail Barcelona by four points with a game in hand and must collect three points against 15th-place Getafe to keep the pressure on the Catalans.
Here's what Real Madrid's XI could look like on Dec. 1.
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Real Madrid Predicted Lineup vs. Getafe (4-4-2)
GK: Thibaut Courtois—Despite his heroics, Courtois could not stop Liverpool from finding the back of the net twice. The Belgian will look to keep a clean sheet in his 250th appearance for Los Blancos.
RB: Lucas Vázquez—The Spaniard returned from injury against Liverpool and will assume his place on the right flank.
CB: Raúl Asencio—Fresh off his impressive Champions League debut, the 21-year-old is in for his third consecutive start.
CB: Antonio Rüdiger—The Germany international brings a much-needed physical presence to Real Madrid's weakened backline.
LB: Fran García—After Ferland Mendy's disappointing performance against the Reds, expect Fran García to get the nod in Sunday's clash.
RM: Fede Valverde—The Uruguayan gets to return to the midfield after serving as Ancelotti's emergency right back.
CM: Luka Modrić—The 39-year-old continues to log heavy minutes despite his age as Real Madrid deals with an injury crisis. Modrić's creativity elevates Los Blancos' sometimes aimless midfield.
CM: Dani Ceballos—With Camavinga injured, Ceballos is the next man up to slot into Ancelotti's midfield. The Spaniard has just four La Liga appearances this season.
LM: Jude Bellingham—With Valverde and Ceballos in the midfield, Bellingham should have much more freedom to link up with Díaz and Mbappé compared to his defensive-minded play against the Reds.
ST: Brahim Díaz—Díaz got nothing going against Liverpool, but the Morocco international should find more success against a Getafe side that has only kept one clean sheet in its last six La Liga matches.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Real Madrid Predicted Lineup vs. Getafe: La Liga.
