Real Madrid veteran set to be left out of the lineup again vs Real Sociedad | OneFootball

One of the key highlights for Real Madrid during these early parts of the campaign has been Xabi Alonso’s team selection in central defence.

While new signing Dean Huijsen has firmly established himself as a first-team regular, Alonso is still yet to find a regular defensive partner for the former Bournemouth prodigy.

That is perhaps Alonso has rotated between Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao, who had started in the last game against RCD Mallorca.

Going by Alonso’s rotation policy in central defence, Rudiger is supposed to start in Real Madrid’s upcoming game against Real Sociedad tomorrow afternoon.

However, according to Defensa Central, Alonso has decided otherwise and is expected to continue with Militao against the Txuri-Urdin, whose coach hailed Real Madrid as one of the best teams in the world.

Why will Rudiger not start vs Real Sociedad?

The report explains that although Rudiger was indeed supposed to start going by the rotation policy, Alonso is aware that the German is coming on the back of international duty.

Militao to start ahead of Rudiger again. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

The former Chelsea centre-back even started in both of Germany’s games this international break.

In contrast, Militao was not selected for the Brazilian national team owing to his fitness woes. In fact, the centre-back is yet to even feature for his country in this calendar year, with his last appearance coming way back in July 2024.

As a result, Militao had been training at Valdebebas during the international break, which should give him an edge over Rudiger as Real Madrid take on Sociedad tomorrow.

Should Militao start this weekend, there is a fair chance Rudiger could start Real Madrid’s next game, which is against Marseille on Tuesday – a game where midfielder Eduardo Camavinga may also return.