The struggling period seems to be behind Real Madrid. A little bit thanks to Barcelona and their stumbles, but the situation in the domestic championship normalized, as Los Blancos could overtake Barca on the La Liga table if they beat Sevilla (18.15). Additionally, the “injury phase” seems to have ended as well. Madrid had numerous problems with absentees, especially in defence, which forced Carlo Ancelotti to experiment with Aurelien Tchouameni in the centre-back position and make the 21-year-old Raul Asencio a regular.✅ Convocatoria del Real Madrid contra el Sevilla 🤍✅ Vuelve Ferland Mendy❌ Bajas: Carvajal, Militão y Alaba❌ Sancionado: Vinicius Jr#HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/IXUxWlPfOF— Blanca Vikinga (@BlancaRedondoCa) December 21, 2024 However, speaking to the reporters in the pre-game press conference, the Italian confirmed the return of two vital defenders – Ferland Mendy, who’ll be in the mix for today’s game and the long-absent David Alaba, who played his last match on December 17, 2023, before suffering a severe ACL tear. Yet, the Austrian won’t play against Sevilla but is expected to return in mid-January.”Mendy will be available tomorrow, while Alaba will be available for the return in January. Injuries have not allowed Mendy to play at his best. Lucas [Vazquez] and Fran [Garcia] have performed well and have contributed to the team,” said Ancelotti via Marca.Universal soldier Aurelien: Carletto’s man for every missionThe Madrid side returned from Qatar in a good mood and with another trophy, after winning the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, by beating the Mexican Pachuca 3-0. Now, they have to switch their focus to La Liga and try to exploit Barcelona’s yesterday’s gift.LA LIGA – MATCHDAY 18FridayGirona – Valladolid 3-0 (2-0)/Lopez D. 31, Ruiz 39, Danjuma 81/SaturdayGetafe – Mallorca 0-1 (0-0)/Larin 53 pen/Celta – Sociedad 2-0 (2-0)/Duran 40, 45+1/Osasuna – Ath.Bilbao 1-2 (1-1)/Torro 25 – Guruzeta 31, Berenguer 74/Barcelona – Atl.Madrid 1-2 (1-0)/Pedri 30 – De Paul 60, Sorloth 90+6/Sunday16:00: (2.30) Valencia (3.10) Alaves (3.40)18:15: (1.33) Real Madrid (5.50) Sevilla (8.50)20:30: (1.90) Las Palmas (3.60) Espanyol (4.50)20:30: (4.10) Leganes (3.50) Villareal (2.00)23:00: (1.80) Betis (3.60) Rayo Vallecano (5.10)***odds are subject to change***
