Real Madrid have six games on the road lined up after facing Valencia at the Bernabeu on Saturday. A key UEFA Champions League date at Anfield is due on Tuesday. After an eventful victory against Barcelona
last weekend, Xabi Alonso will probably be keen to give some rest to some of his key players.
Éder Militão has been in fine form recently. He was close to flawless against Barcelona in defense and claimed the assist for Madrid’s winning goal, scored by Jude Bellingham. However, injuries to defenders remain persistent at Valdebebas. David Alaba, Antonio Rüdiger, and Dani Carvajal are all out with lengthy issues. Dean Huijsen has just returned from a brief stint on the sidelines.
Militão has started the season strongly, but Real Madrid must be very cautious with him regarding workload management. The Brazilian center-back suffered two ACL injuries over the past couple of seasons. The fact that he is still playing at such a high level is nothing short of a miracle to some. Hence, before travelling to Merseyside for the big game against Liverpool, Xabi Alonso might rest Militão and start Raul Asensio in his place.
Franco Mastantuono started in six out of the eight league games he has featured in. But in the last two outings against Juventus and Barcelona, the Argentine has lost ground in the hierarchy. It was inevitable for his minutes to get curtailed once Xabi Alonso had both Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga fully fit. 18th-placed Valencia at home, right after a Clásico win that has lifted the energy within the club, might be a great chance to offer a start to the 18-year-old once again, even if it is temporary. Some rest for either Arda Güler or Bellingham on Saturday might pave the way for Mastantuono.
The Vinicius Jr. and Xabi Alonso dynamic made headlines throughout the week since the Clásico win for all kinds of reasons. Without delving into it once again, it is perhaps important to analyze whether Vinicius was going to be given rest after the Clásico anyway. But with everything that has happened, Xabi Alonso may not want to complicate things any further. Workload is not an issue either–the Brazilian star is not among the top five players who have played the most minutes for Real Madrid in LaLiga this season.
Only Alvaro Carreras has played more minutes in LaLiga for Los Blancos than Kylian Mbappé among all outfield players of the club this season. The current leader in the Pichichi table and freshly crowned with his European Golden Boot on Friday, Mbappe may not be too keen to sit this one out, but he is indeed in need of rest. Gonzalo Garcia could get the nod if the France captain is rested.
