Big Star Gets What He Wants

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti will make changes to his attack when hosting Sevilla at the Bernabeu on Sunday afternoon in Spain.

Vinicius Jr. is suspended for the La Liga fixture which is Los Blancos’ last outing of 2024.

According to reports by the likes of AS, the Brazilian has been granted early holidays to Miami and will return to the Spanish capital on December 30 with a key clash against Valencia on the horizon on January 3.

That particular match is an important game in hand Madrid has over FC Barcelona, which lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid on Saturday and can fall behind in the title race by as many as five or six points in the near future.

Because of Vinicius being absent, Kylian Mbappe can be put on his preferred left wing as Rodrygo takes the central striker role and Brahim is brought in on the right.

In midfield, Eduardo Camavinga is the pivot behind Jude Bellingham, surprise inclusion Dani Ceballos and Fede Valverde while there is no place for captain Luka Modric in the side.

That logic continues to apply to 2024/2025 breakout star Raul Asencio, who again has to watch Aurelien Tchouameni in his place from the sidelines.

The defensive midfielder partners Toni Rudiger in the heart of the back line, while Fran Garcia is cut because Ancelotti will go with a flat back three completed by Lucas Vazquez at right back to help protect Thibaut Courtois’ goal.

Amid revealing a Christmas wish for 2025 at the prematch press conference to preview this tie, Ancelotti showed that his men are relishing playing in front of their fans after a lot of road trips as of late which includes winning the Intercontinental Cup final at Pachuca’s expense in Lusail, Qatar on Wednesday.

“We return to the Bernabeu after many away games… And to finish the year here, with our fans, is very exciting. We want to end 2024 well. Sevilla is an opponent who are competing well in every game, but the objective is very clear: to end this year with a victory,” Ancelotti said.

Real Madrid Vs. Sevilla Starting XI: Courtois; Rudiger, Tchouameni, Lucas Vazquez; Camavinga, Bellingham, Ceballos, Valverde; Mbappe, Rodrygo, Brahim