Arbeloa faces Levante with SEVEN first-team players missing
Real Madrid's caretaker boss heads into crucial La Liga clash after cup disappointments with severely depleted squad, forced to call up youth players.
Real Madrid’s return to league action comes with their squad stretched thinner than my wallet after a night on the lash in Soho.
Crisis point for depleted Madrid
Alvaro Arbeloa faces a proper selection headache as Los Blancos prepare to host Levante on Saturday (14:00 local time) in their 20th La Liga fixture of the season. The caretaker manager will be desperate to get Madrid back to winning ways following their recent cup catastrophes - knocked out of the Copa del Rey and losing the Supercopa final.
But blimey, he’ll have to do it the hard way. Madrid are missing a whopping seven first-team players for this crucial clash:
- Andriy Lunin
- Ferland Mendy
- Éder Militão
- Trent Alexander-Arnold
- Antonio Rüdiger
- Brahim Díaz
- Rodrygo Goes
That’s nearly a full starting XI of absentees! Talk about being up the creek without a paddle.
Youth to the rescue
With his squad in tatters, Arbeloa’s done the sensible thing and turned to the academy lads. Four Castilla prospects have been called up to the first-team squad for the Levante match:
- David Jiménez
- Cestero
- Palacios
- Leiva
Three of these youngsters already have first-team minutes under their belts, with only Leiva yet to make his official debut for the senior side. The others know what it’s like to don the famous white shirt when it really counts.
Pressure mounting
After the recent disappointments in both cup competitions, the pressure’s building on Arbeloa and his squad. Three points against Levante isn’t just wanted - it’s absolutely essential if Madrid are to keep pace at the top of La Liga.
The big question now is how Arbeloa will structure his starting XI with so many key players watching from the treatment room. Whatever team he puts out, the Madrid faithful will expect nothing less than a convincing win against the visitors from Valencia.