Real Madrid facing potential selection crisis for Liverpool showdown after Trent injury update | OneFootball

From the moment that Real Madrid were confirmed as one of Liverpool’s four opponents at Anfield in the league phase of this season’s Champions League, one name immediately jumped to mind.

It seemed inevitable that the footballing gods would hand Trent Alexander-Arnold a return to his former stomping ground at the earliest opportunity, and so it proved on the day that the 36 teams in Europe’s premier club tournament discovered who they’d be facing in the opening round.

The 26-year-old left Merseyside for the Spanish capital in contentious circumstances earlier this year, running down his contract with his boyhood side until Los Blancos stepped in to pay £10m to sign him a month early so that he could feature in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Real Madrid came from behind to beat Marseille 2-1 in their opening 2025/26 Champions League fixture on Tuesday night, but it came with some substantial collateral damage.

Real Madrid facing potential selection crisis for Liverpool trip

Alexander-Arnold picked up a hamstring injury inside the first five minutes and had to be substituted, with his replacement Dani Carvajal later getting himself stupidly sent off for headbutting Geronimo Rulli.

As per BBC Sport, the England international is set to be sidelined for ‘up to six weeks’, and while his current club face Liverpool seven weeks from now, he could yet be doubtful for the Anfield fixture if his recovery takes longer than initially projected.

(Photo by Mateo Villalba Sanchez/Getty Images)

Real Madrid left without a natural right-back after double whammy

Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso is now left with a major selection headache that he could still have by the time he returns to Merseyside in early November.

According to Mundo Deportivo (via Football Espana), Carvajal will receive a minimum two-match European suspension after his red card, potentially increasing to three games or more if the referee’s report deems it an act of aggression.

Los Blancos’ two natural right-backs will duly be unavailable their next two Champions League fixtures (away to Kairat Almaty and at home to Juventus) and could also be at risk of missing the showdown against Liverpool.

If the latter scenario comes to pass, Alonso would be forced to redeploy someone out of position to deputise at right-back – the likeliest candidates would appear to be Raul Asencio, Eder Militao or Federico Valverde (Transfermarkt).

Midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai excelled when making such an adjustment for the Reds in recent weeks, but there’s no guarantee that one of Real Madrid’s players would do the same if they’re forced into a reshuffle.

While obviously we never like to see players being injured, Los Blancos could be notably weakened for their visit to Anfield on 4 November, a situation that Liverpool would happily exploit in the latest chapter of a European rivalry which has developed over the past decade.

You can watch the Liverpool squad prepare for Champions League action via our YouTube channel: