Fresh from getting their hands on the La Liga title on Saturday evening, Real Madrid now return to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich.
The first leg in Germany saw the two teams play out a 2-2 draw, with Real Madrid taking the lead before a Bayern comeback was canceled out by a Vinícius Júnior penalty. The result means that a spot in the final at Wembley in June is up for grabs with both teams standing a strong chance of making it to London.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti faces a selection headache over who to start in defence, just as he did for the first leg last week. On that occasion, he chose to start his captain Nacho, moving Aurélien Tchouameni into midfield and dropping Eduardo Camavinga to the bench, and he could yet repeat that formula.
The other significant change for Los Blancos will see right-back Dani Carvajal return after serving a suspension in the first leg, and he looks set to retake his place with Lucas Vázquez returning to his spot on the bench having given away the penalty which allowed Harry Kane to give the Germans the lead in Bavaria.
For almost the first time this season, Real Madrid will have an almost complete squad available for this crucial Champions League tie. Defender David Alaba is the only player ruled out as he continues to recover from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Thibaut Courtois and Éder Militão have both returned to action in recent weeks, with the goalkeeper starting against Cádiz on Saturday, but neither is likely to start against Bayern Munich. Ancelotti has already declared his intention to start Andriy Lunin between the sticks, and Militão’s two mistakes on the ball against Cádiz are unlikely to have changed the Italian’s mind that he needs more game time before playing at such a high level.
UEFA’s suspension rules mean that no player is either suspended or at risk of suspension for the final, unless they are shown a red card in this match. That means that there will be no repeat of Xabi Alonso in 2014, who was suspended for the final in Lisbon after collecting a yellow card in the semi-final second leg.
Expected line-up for Real Madrid against Bayern Munich: Andriy Lunin; Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rüdiger, Nacho Fernández, Ferland Mendy; Aurélien Tchouameni, Toni Kroos, Fede Valverde, Jude Bellingham; Rodrygo Goes and Vinícius Júnior.
Off the bench, Ancelotti is likely to turn to former Manchester City and AC Milan attacker Brahim Díaz, who was on the scoresheet against Cádiz on Saturday, and Eduardo Camavinga, who will still be hoping to force his way into the coach’s plans.
Beyond those two, the experience of Luka Modrić will be invaluable, making an impact just as he did in the first leg, while centre forward Joselu could also provide an alternative in the offensive structure if required.