Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti will be forced into a defensive alteration for the second leg of his side's Champions League quarter-final with Manchester City at the Etihad on Wednesday.
Within the first minute of last week's absorbing 3-3 draw, Aurelien Tchouameni picked up his third yellow card of the 2023-24 tournament, ruling him out of the second leg through suspension.
The Frenchman has curiously been named in the travelling squad, but unless Ancelotti knows something that nobody else does, he will have to cope without the banned Tchouameni in Manchester.
The ex-Monaco man is one of three definite absentees for the second leg alongside ACL victims David Alaba and Thibaut Courtois, but Eder Militao is slowly regaining match fitness after his lengthy layoff.
The Brazilian is an option to deputise for Tchouameni in the heart of defence, but Ancelotti should continue to err on the side of caution, meaning that Nacho Fernandez should link arms with Antonio Rudiger at the back.
The pair will protect Courtois's deputy Andriy Lunin, while Ferland Mendy and Dani Carvajal will have the arduous task of trying to keep Phil Foden and either Jeremy Doku or Jack Grealish quiet out wide.
Both rested for the weekend's La Liga triumph at Mallorca, Toni Kroos and Eduardo Camavinga should be recalled to the engine room, where Eduardo Camavinga is a nailed-on starter thanks to Tchouameni's ban.
Two changes up top will also see Selecao pair Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior displace Joselu and ex-Man City product Brahim Diaz, while Jude Bellingham pulls the strings in the number 10 role as ever.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Lunin; Carvajal, Nacho, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr
> Click here to see how Man City could line up for the second leg
Ben Knapton
