Arsenal: Three key issues Real Madrid must address before Champions League showdown
Carlo Ancelotti’s side are level on points with Barcelona at the top of LaLiga, into the quarter-finals of the Champions League and leading Real Sociedad going into the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie.
Injury-hit Arsenal will be underdogs against the European kings but Ancelotti has some problems to solve ahead of the first leg at the Emirates Stadium on April 8.
Here’s the issues Real Madrid have to ponder over the next fortnight…
Who plays instead of Tchouameni?
Ancelotti has a selection headache because Aurelien Tchouameni is suspended for the first leg against Arsenal.
Absent: Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is banned for the first leg against Arsenal
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Tchouameni will now miss the first leg against Arsenal and his absence is a big blow as he plays a vital role for Real Madrid at the base of their midfield.
In LaLiga this season, Federico Valverde is the only Real Madrid player to have made more interceptions and tackles than Tchouameni.
The 25-year-old ranks third in the Real Madrid squad when it comes to completed passes in LaLiga, while Kylian Mbappe and Valverde are the only outfield players to have registered more minutes than him.
Tchouameni has started all but three of Real Madrid’s Champions League games this season. He missed their trip to Anfield in November due to injury and Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners.
How does Ancelotti manage players’ minutes?
In his final press conference before the international break, Ancelotti came out swinging following his side’s 2-1 comeback win over Villarreal.
The victory came just three days after the dramatic triumph over Atletico in the Champions League and Ancelotti hit out at the scheduling.
“I think today is the last time that we’ll play a game before 72 hours,” he said. “We won’t do it again, without 72 hours of rest. We asked LaLiga to change the time of the game twice, and they didn’t do anything. But this is the last time.”
On form: Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Manchester City in the Champions League play-off round
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Unfortunately for Ancelotti and Real Madrid, a less than 72-hour turnaround is exactly what they have after this international break.
Real host Leganes in La Liga on Saturday before taking on Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has hit back during the brewing row and posted on social media to point out how Saturday’s game with Leganes had been moved to a late kick-off at Real’s request, with their players returning from international duty that week.
Arsenal, by contrast, have no such fixture headaches. They are out of the FA Cup and therefore players return from international duty this week to find themselves with a weekend off.
Will Real Madrid’s stars continue to defend from the front?
One of the major debates in the Spanish media this season has been whether a front four of Jude Bellingham, Mbappe, Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr unbalances the team.
The side that won the Champions League last season contained one less attacker and Mbappe has essentially taken the place of midfielder Toni Kroos, who retired.
Influential: Jude Bellingham will have a key role for Real Madrid against Arsenal
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It has made Ancelotti’s side devastating going forward, but some have raised concerns about their defensive vulnerability.
Barcelona, for example, have scored nine goals against Real Madrid in their two meetings this season.
The key in Ancelotti’s eye is defending from the front, and his side’s win over Manchester City in the Champions League play-off round underlined that.
Ancelotti singled out his four forwards’ pressing after that, but they will need to keep up that work rate as the business end of the season begins.
“With all this quality in front, it is difficult to think that we could defend so well,” said Ancelotti. “But the sacrifice of the four was fantastic in these two games, and this is the key.
“Because when you defend well, in front, we are really dangerous, because we have so much quality.”
