Real Madrid's away tour continues this weekend as they travel to the Estadi Montilivi to face Girona on Sunday evening.
White The game will be attended by temporarily deposed league leaders Barcelona, which won the game against Deportivo Alaves on Saturday evening. Of course, now they are under pressure.
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Having dropped points from their last two league games, the Men in White will be aiming to take all three points tomorrow to get back on track and regain their position as league leaders.
However, any mistake would see them lose their lead over Barcelona, which would simply be unacceptable given Real's strong start to the season and Classical a victory that helped them build a significant lead not too long ago.
Madrid Universal offers you three topics to discuss ahead of the Girona v Real Madrid match.
There's no room to hesitate
The past month has by no means been the best for Real Madrid, with Xabi Alonso's side slipping from a position of dominance to their lowest point of the campaign.
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Their decline began at Anfield earlier this month and then deepened when they managed a goalless draw with Real Valladolid in only their last game before the international break.
Returning from the break many expected them to arrive refreshed and raring to go, but they again managed to draw 2-2 away to Elche. Having dropped points in their last two league games, they no longer have room to make mistakes.
In the end, their misses allowed Barcelona to jump right back into the race, and the Catalans are now slightly ahead of them despite having already played on matchday. Tomorrow's victory is a must.
The department has been updated
Militao and Rüdiger are back. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
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The last few games have been difficult for Real Madrid due to the lack of natural defenders available for selection, forcing Xabi Alonso to risk using rather unconventional pairings to help the team get through the period.
Although Dean Hysen did start White In the match against Elche, the coach was left without David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao due to injuries.
The Spaniard, however, also missed the team's game against Olympiacos along with the aforementioned trio, leaving the coach with only Raul Asensio as a natural centre-back option.
There are developments in this regard ahead of tomorrow's match at Montilivi, as Real Madrid's defense will be relatively refreshed this evening.
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In anticipation of the game, Xabi Alonso confirmed that Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao will return to the squad, which will give the team a serious boost. However, unfortunately, Asensio's participation remains in doubt after he contagious gastroenteritis.
It remains to be seen who the coach will put in defense from the start, especially if Asensio is truly unavailable.
Although Militao is also recovering from injury, he could start given his rhythm in the game, which is not the case with Rudiger, who has been out of action for several months.
Midfield Mystery
While Xabi Alonso is truly spoiled for choice in midfield, he is yet to find the golden partnership that brings out the best in the best players in the department.
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After all, much of the season has seen the rise of one player and the fall of another, and tactical inconsistency is one of the main reasons for this.
The plan at the start of the season was to rely on Jude Bellingham as a central midfielder and Arda Guler as an attacking midfielder, and the Englishman's shoulder surgery saw the latter get chances and impress in that regard.
However, Bellingham's return complicated matters in this regard, especially as Alonso soon forced him into use as an attacking midfielder. After all, he shines best as a striker, but this takes Güler away from his best position.
For most of the season since his return, Bellingham has operated just behind the striker. However, in the team's last game against Olympiacos, in which there was excellent control in the center, the team used a different formation, which again complicates the situation.
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Bellingham can indeed still operate just behind the duo of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius in this new formation, but it takes Guler further away from where he would like to play. Moreover, it would exclude Eduardo Camavinga from the squad and compromise the press.
Heading into tomorrow's game, Alonso will look to experiment and take another step towards solving the seemingly intractable midfield conundrum. After all, there is a real need to determine the best scheme before the business end of the season.
