Carlo Ancelotti’s options to replace injured Real Madrid midfielder against Getafe | OneFootball

Real Madrid endured another forgettable night in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday as they fell to a defeat to a high-flying Liverpool at Anfield.

The Merengues were missing several of their key starters for this game, including the likes of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Dani Carvajal.

However, this match against Liverpool also proved to be costly on the injury front, as Real Madrid saw another of their key players, Eduardo Camavinga, getting a hamstring injury, which forced him to leave the pitch early in the second half, and which will also keep him out of action for the next 3-4 weeks.

Since his return from an injury that he had suffered right before the start of the season, Camavinga had been one of the most consistent players for Real Madrid. He was one of the shining lights in a rather dull Real Madrid team against Liverpool, and this has been the case in other previous games as well.

Thus, Carlo Ancelotti will dearly miss him for the upcoming matches, but the Italian tactician will still have some options up his sleeve to replace him in his starting lineup.

Aurelien Tchouameni

Luckily, Aurelien Tchouameni is already nearing a return from his injury and can be named on the list for the upcoming match against Getafe. Although he has not been in any remarkable form since the start of this season, he was still Ancelotti’s starting midfield pivot before he was sidelined with a sprain in his left ankle early in November.

However, even if he is available for the game on Sunday, he would have only just returned from a month-long spell on the sidelines, and Ancelotti might decide not to play him from the very start. Similarly, if he does actually play, it is not clear whether he will play as a midfielder or a defender, as the team’s backline is also very short of options.

But once available, Tchouameni will be the best option for Ancelotti to replace Camavinga at the pivot position.

Federico Valverde

The Uruguayan had to play out of position for the last two games, as both Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez were injured, and there were no other right-backs available for Carlo Ancelotti.

Even before that, Ancelotti had played Valverde in some other roles in some previous games, sometimes as a winger. This situation also prompted a harsh reaction from Valverde’s wife, Mina Bonino, after the loss against AC Milan.

In her social media outburst, Bonino had claimed that Valverde plays the best when positioned at the pivot position, and it looks likely that Ancelotti will have to give Valverde this position in the upcoming game against Getafe, especially with Camavinga injured and Tchouameni not yet back to full fitness.

Valverde has been another player who has performed at a very consistent level for months now, irrespective of his position on the field. So, the fans can rest assured that the pivot position will be in safe hands in the Uruguayan is played there on Sunday.

Dani Ceballos

Although injuries and the coach’s preference have kept him in the shadows for most part of this season, the Spaniard has been making some good performances in the last few games.

He got a surprise start in the game against Leganes and had quite a good outing as he got a 7.6 rating from Sofascore, and played mostly on the left side of the midfield. He helped his team remain in control of the game with 85 out of 89 successful passes, recording a 96% success rate. Similarly, he also made some defensive contributions, making 1 interception and 4 tackles.

He also provided a spark to the team as he replaced Camavinga for the last 33 minutes of the game against Liverpool, and one can expect him to do a good job if Ancelotti decides to keep him in Camavinga’s place for the upcoming game against Getafe.

In addition to these options, Ancelotti will also have the option to play Luka Modric in this position, but these three are the most likely options that the Real Madrid coach will pick to replace Eduardo Camavinga for the game against Getafe.