To keep the pressure on Barcelona atop the La Liga standings, Real Madrid must collect all three points against Rayo Vallecano without the injured Kylian Mbappé.
Coming off a much-needed Champions League victory against Atalanta, Real Madrid must turn their attention back to La Liga, where they trail Hansi Flick's men by two points with a game in hand. Vinícius Júnior returned in the midweek clash and recorded a goal and an assist after missing four matches due to a thigh injury.
Despite the major injury boost, Real Madrid are still missing the injured Ferland Mendy, David Alaba, Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão. Even worse, Mbappé is now sidelined with a thigh injury and not expected to return until Los Blancos' final match of 2024. Eduardo Camavinga is back and ready to play, though, giving Carlo Ancelotti another option in the midfield.
Without Mbappé available, Ancelotti will have to rely on the attacking options that won Real Madrid La Liga and the Champions League last season against Rayo Vallecano, a team that held Los Blancos to two draws in 2023–24.
Here's what Real Madrid's XI could look like against Iñigo Pérez's squad on Dec. 14.
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Real Madrid Predicted Lineup vs. Rayo Vallecano (4-2-3-1)
GK: Thibaut Courtois—Courtois will look to keep his fourth clean sheet since returning from injury.
RB: Lucas Vázquez—The Spaniard is approaching 370 appearances for Los Blancos.
CB: Aurélien Tchouaméni—It is hard to imagine Ancelotti moving the Frenchman back to the midfield when he has played so well as a center back.
CB: Antonio Rüdiger—Arguably one of Real Madrid's most consistent players, Rüdiger will command the backline against a Rayo Vallecano attack that has scored four goals in its last two matches.
LB: Fran García—With Mendy out injured, the 25-year-old earns another start on the left flank. García will look to link up with Vinícius Júnior in the attack.
DM: Fede Valverde—Valverde has started every game this season and his streak will continue against Rayo Vallecano.
DM: Dani Ceballos—Expect Ceballos to get his second consecutive start should Camavinga only feature off the bench. Ancelotti could also opt for Luka Modrić, who played just six minutes against Atalanta.
RW: Brahim Díaz—The Morocco international bagged an assist and won the most duels in Real Madrid's midweek Champions League fixture.
AM: Jude Bellingham—Bellingham has now scored in six of Real Madrid's last seven matches after failing to find the back of the net for the first three months of the season.
LW: Vinícius Júnior—The Brazilian is up to 13 goals and seven assists across in 19 appearances all competitions.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Real Madrid Predicted Lineup vs. Rayo Vallecano: La Liga.
