There are defeats that hurt and last Sunday’s defeat in the Metropolitano derby stung Real Madrid a lot. There is no better remedy in these cases than to play again immediately and the whites do so tonight at the Bernabéu against a rival that is theoretically one of the most affordable, UD Las Palmas, a team that has only scored twice in the league so far. goals, but strong in defense: they have only conceded four, the one that has conceded the least together with Athletic. For the match, Madrid once again has its most disruptive player, Vinícius, who reappears a month after his muscle injury.
Everything indicates that the return of Vinícius will allow Ancelotti to return to 4-3-3, his preferred system. The normal thing would be for Vinícius to play on the left, Rodrygo on the right and Joselu be the 9. Against Atlético, Madrid played without a center forward, populated the field with midfielders and things ended badly for their interests.
Another who is also expected to return to the eleven is Dani Carvajal, absent the last two games due to a muscle ailment. It is also not clear that Alaba is still in his position after his catastrophic derby. Nacho might have options. The center of the field is also a mystery. Only Bellingham is safe. He has six goals in seven games. Kroos and Modric, not very good on Sunday, are aiming for the bench, even more so when on Saturday the team visits the surprising Girona, currently co-leader with Barça, in Montilivi. On paper, a much more demanding match.
Carlo Ancelotti yesterday minimized the defeat of the Metropolitano. He understands that the errors were specific and do not tarnish the good trajectory in the League. Of course, it requires more application in defense, especially ensuring that the opponent does not score such comfortable lateral crosses. Atlético’s three goals were from headers inside the poorly defended area.
UD Las Palmas today faces one of its historic debts in First Division. He never won at the Santiago Bernabéu. Of 34 visits he has only managed five draws. Their coach, the Catalan Xavi García Pimienta, assures that they will play Madrid face to face, without complexes. The Gran Canaria team has just achieved its first victory of the season, a 1-0 against Granada that helped them get out of the relegation zone. The goal came in added time and with one less player due to the expulsion of starting center back Mika Mármol.
Las Palmas has lost its three away games by the same score (1-0), against Valencia, Girona and Sevilla. He has in his favor the one who has nothing to lose.
