Why isn’t Courtois playing for RM against Olympiacos today in the UCL?

Thibaut Courtois will miss Wednesday’s Champions League matchup against Olympiacos after leaving the Ciudad Real Madrid facility on Tuesday with a bout of gastroenteritis that prevented him from taking part in training.

Lunin to replace Courtois in Greece

Courtois’ absence opens the door for Andriy Lunin, who has yet to log a single minute this season. His first opportunity was expected to come during Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey opener on Dec. 17, although circumstances have accelerated the timetable. Youth goalkeepers Fran Gonzalez and Javi Navarro trained with the squad and will also travel to Greece. All four keepers are registered for the Champions League roster.

Real Madrid injury report for Olympiacos: Huijsen, Rüdiger, Mastantuono...

There are plenty of other selection issues for Xabi Alonso, who is under pressure to turn Madrid’s form around immediately after a challenging spell.

Center-back Dean Huijsen misses out after sustaining a thigh injury in the weekend draw against Elche. The 20-year-old joins fellow defender Dani Carvajal, Eder Militão and Antonio Rüdiger on the sidelines. While the absences of Carvajal and Militão were expected, Alonso had hoped to have Rüdiger available following a muscle problem. Ultimately, though, the German hasn’t traveled to Greece.

Midfielder Franco Mastantuono has resumed training but won’t be involved in Wednesday’s game, but Aurélien Tchouaméni is fit to play despite sitting out Tuesday’s training ession.

Real Madrid go into the clash in Piraeus in ninth place in the 36-team Champions League table. The LaLiga giants started the campaign with consecutive wins over Marseille, Kairat and Juventus, but were defeated by Liverpool in their last UCL outing.