Real Madrid Expected Lineup And Team News Vs. Juventus, Club World Cup

The FIFA Club World Cup has pitched two European giants up against one another in the round of 16, as Spanish side Real Madrid take on Italian outfit Juventus at the Hard Rock Stadium with a 3 p.m. ET kick-off on Tuesday, July 1st.

Real Madrid is led by new coach Xabi Alonso, who described this encounter as “a very different match”, insisting that it could be “decisive” in “a very important competition”. The former Bayer Leverkusen coach will be seeking to avoid a first defeat in charge of the club, having drawn with Al Hilal and then beaten Pachuca and RB Salzburg in the group stage.

The Spanish coach faces a number of selection decisions with his lineup against Juventus, particularly whether he will continue with a three-man defence or revert to the four-man system which he started the competition with, and whether or not to recall Kylian Mbappé after the Frenchman overcame illness to rejoin training this week.

Real Madrid team news vs. Juventus

The major headline surrounds Kylian Mbappé, who has yet to feature in the Club World Cup after falling ill with gastroentiritis ahead of the start of the competition. Xabi Alonso explained that he had “many chances” of featuring in this game, but it is not expected that the coach will throw the Frenchman straight into the lineup after only a few days of training after losing weight due to his illness.

On a more positive note, both Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão will form part of the squad again after long-term injuries. Neither is expected to play here, unless they are given some minutes off the bench with the result settled, but their return adds some much needed depth to the team’s defensive options.

While the defensive duo has returned, four players remain absent with injury as Ferland Mendy, Eduardo Camavinga, Endrick Felipe and David Alaba are all still sidelined. None of the quartet are expected back before the end of the competition.

One area for Real Madrid to be cautious of is with Vinícius Júnior. The Brazilian is one yellow card away from suspension and could miss a potential quarterfinal match-up with Borussia Dortmund or Rayados de Monterrey.

Real Madrid expected lineup vs. Juventus

Real Madrid’s expected lineup vs. Juventus: Thibaut Courtois; Antonio Rüdiger, Aurélien Tchouameni, Dean Huijsen; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fede Valverde, Arda Güler, Jude Bellingham, Fran García; Vinícius Júnior, Gonzalo García.

The main talking point is likely to be the continuation of a back three in defence, and the decision not to recall Raúl Asencio having served his suspension after being sent off against Pachuca. Asencio is back available for Xabi Alonso, but Antonio Rüdiger will keep his place on the right of the back three as the coach keeps the same lineup as was fielded against RB Salzburg.

That also means a more advanced role on either flank for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fran García as the two continue to operate as wing-backs. They will push further forward and support Fede Valverde and Jude Bellingham in midfield, with Turkish youngster Arda Güler continuing in the central midfield role.

With Kylian Mbappé not yet ready to be risked from the start, youngster Gonzalo García will keep his place with two goals in three games in the group stages. He will be joined by Vinícius Júnior, who secured the MVP award in his last outing against Salzburg.

Off the bench, Xabi Alonso could turn to his veteran captain Luka Modrić, who will leave the club at the end of this tournament, or to Rodrygo Goes, who has fallen out of favor but was spoken of highly by the coach this week as an option to impact games late on.