Possible lineup for Real Madrid in home LaLiga debut against Valladolid

Ancelotti is expected to retain the bulk of the starting XI who started last weekend in Palma with Fran García coming in for the suspended Mendy and Modric for the injured Bellingham.

After drawing in the first matchday of their visit to Mallorca, Real Madrid are looking for their first win in the 2024-25 LaLiga campaign. Sunday’s match against Real Valladolid represents Kylian Mbappé's home debut at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium with the striker anxious to impress the fans with the game sold out.

The French star was on target against Atlanta in the UEFA Super Cup but failed to shine in his league debut in Mallorca. Jude Bellingham offers a setback for Ancelotti’s team after developing a muscular problem in his right leg and the England international is expected to miss at least five weeks of action which will include Madrid’s debut in the new Champions League format.

In a season that could see Madrid play 72 games at best, the Italian head coach will have to rotate players throughout the campaign to keep his regular players rested and call upon the bench to keep the squad fresh. To do this, Ancelotti himself acknowledged in a recent press conference that he plans individual mini-vacations for his players halfway through the competition.

Real Madrid fans would settle for a similar scoreline from the last time Valladolid visited the Bernabeu in the 2022-23 season, where Los Blancos, captained by Karim Benzema ran out 6-0.

Madrid’s possible starting XI for Sunday

The possible eleven to face Valladolid is as follows: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Rüdiger, Fran García; Valverde, Tchouameni, Modric; Rodrygo, Mbappé and Vinicius. The Italian coach has 19 players in the squad. On the bench will be: Lunin, Fran González; Lucas Vázquez, Jacobo Ramón, Ceballos, Arda Güler, Endrick and Brahim.

Real Madrid’s ups absentees

Real Madrid have four players out for this second league match: Vallejo, Camavinga, Bellingham and Alaba. The Spanish centre-back is suffering from muscle discomfort and has not been included in the Italian coach’s squad. The Frenchman will be out until the end of September due to a sprained internal collateral ligament in his left knee that occurred after a stamp by Tchouameni in training prior to the match against Atalanta.

The Englishman has an injury to the plantar thin muscle of his right leg and will be out for around a month. And the Austrian, for his part, faces the final stretch of recovery from the rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that he suffered in December 2023.

After Sunday’s clash against Valladolid, Real Madrid will travel to the Canary Islands for the matchday three game as they take on UD Las Palmas on 29 August at the Gran Canaria Stadium.