Bellingham, Militao to start in a 4-3-1-2 – How Real Madrid can line up against Girona | OneFootball

Real Madrid will be gunning to snatch the No. 1 spot in La Liga from Barcelona when they take on Girona at Estadi Montilivi later tonight.

While the Merengues entered the matchday as league leaders, Barcelona overtook them after beating Deportivo Alaves 3-1 on Saturday.

It has put pressure on Xabi Alonso & co., who have gone without a win in their last two La Liga matches. Having beaten Olympiacos 4-3 in the UEFA Champions League earlier in the week, Real Madrid will be aiming to carry forward that momentum tonight.

The good news is that Real Madrid have recovered important players like Thibaut Courtois, Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao, and Franco Mastantuono, with all four being named in the squad list.

However, Alonso will once again be without David Alaba, Dani Carvajal, and Dean Huijsen, while Raul Asencio also misses out due to gastroenteritis.

Factoring in everything, here is how Real Madrid could set up tonight against Michel’s Girona at Estadi Montilivi.

Defence

With Thibaut Courtois recovering from his gastroenteritis and returning to the squad, it is a given that he will reclaim his starting berth in the Real Madrid goal from Andriy Lunin.

As for the defensive line, Trent Alexander-Arnold is the obvious pick at right-back in the absence of Dani Carvajal.

Meanwhile, the fit-again Eder Militao should walk back right into the starting lineup given the lack of resources at centre-back. However, Xabi Alonso is likely to be more cautious with Antonio Rudiger, given that he was absent for so long.

As such, Alvaro Carreras could again slot in at the heart of the defence, like he did in midweek, with Ferland Mendy starting on the left side after his solid display vs Olympiacos. Fran Garcia will be on the bench again.

Ferland Mendy to start once more? (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

Midfield

As for the midfield unit, Xabi Alonso has some major decisions to make, considering that he has not found the ideal blueprint to fit in all of his heavy-hitters without it affecting the balance of the team.

With Jude Bellingham fully fit and ready to start again, the manager will likely set up in a diamond formation in midfield, placing the England international at the tip.

Meanwhile, key midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni will sit at the base of the midfield and provide defensive solidity, even dropping in as the third centre-half whenever needed.

Federico Valverde and Arda Guler will be the two interiors tasked with providing the energy and the creativity from the centre. Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Ceballos will be options from the bench.

Attack

With Bellingham operating as the attacking midfielder, Real Madrid will have their superstar pairing of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. at the top.

The superstar duo showed signs of a flourishing partnership against Olympiacos and will be key to Real Madrid’s hopes of winning again tonight.

There will be minutes off the bench for players like Brahim Diaz and Rodrygo Goes, while Franco Mastantuono, too, could get a look-in after recovering from his pubalgia problems.