Arda Güler Could Start In Midfield Against Barcelona
Real Madrid’s final training session in Chicago, ahead of their El Clasico friendly against Barcelona in New Jersey, provided clues about Carlo Ancelotti’s starting XI. The session, held this morning, showcased a lineup that could very well take the pitch on Saturday, continuing Ancelotti’s trend of revealing his starting team during training.
Managing Madrid’s Siddharth Ramsundar was on site to take notes.
Observed Lineup:
- Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois
- Defenders: Lucas Vázquez, Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger, Fran García
- Midfielders: Luka Modrić, Dani Ceballos, Arda Güler
- Forwards: Rodrygo, Brahim Díaz, Endrick
Key Changes from Previous Lineup: There were two notable changes compared to the lineup seen in the recent match against AC Milan at Soldier Field. Éder Militão, fresh from his vacation, replaced the injured Jesús Vallejo in defense. Additionally, Rodrygo returned to the fold, taking the place of Mario Martín. This switch allowed for an intriguing tactical adjustment, with Arda Güler playing in a deeper midfield role—a concept Ancelotti hinted at during his post-match press conference to Managing Madrid’s Kiyan Sobhani after the AC Milan game. Ancelotti’s comments suggested that Güler could seamlessly fit into a midfield trio, a role he seemed to embrace during today’s session:
My question to Carlo Ancelotti tonight about Arda Güler, and his insightful answer. Can Güler play in a deeper role? What’s his best position? pic.twitter.com/o5ia7MizXy
— Kiyan Sobhani (@KiyanSo) August 1, 2024
Sid noted some additional interesting points from Güler’s role:
More buildup sequences.
Guler also switched sides and is playing extremely deep for the “B Team” as well in midfield, as Carlo hinted he could to @KiyanSo the other day.
Here, he basically drops behind Ceballos (who also swapped teams) into the 6 spot to dictate buildup. pic.twitter.com/SPelVcAMDT
— Managing Madrid (@managingmadrid) August 2, 2024
Elsewhere, Vinicius Jr — normally a starter — will likely not be on the field from the first minute in New Jersey, but he should feature in the second half. Ancelotti is slowly getting his players back, but won’t have his full squad available to him until the team returns to Madrid after the Chelsea game.