After the derby debacle on Saturday evening, Real Madrid will be intent on getting back to winning ways when they take on Kairat Almaty in the UEFA Champions League this Tuesday.
The manner of defeat and the overall performance in the derby came as a shock to many, and as such, Xabi Alonso & co. are under pressure to produce a statement performance tomorrow and get things back on track right away.
Injuries in the defensive department, though, make things tricky as Real Madrid are without Eder Militao, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, and Ferland Mendy for the game.
Xabi ponders major change
As such, journalist Melchor Ruiz of COPE reports that Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso is considering a major tactical tweak for Tuesday’s game against Kairat Almaty.
The Spanish tactician is contemplating fielding a three-man defensive line against the Kazakhstan-based club for tomorrow’s Champions League clash.
It is a tactic that Alonso favoured heavily during his time at Bayer Leverkusen and has tried at Real Madrid on occasions. And, fans might get to see it get deployed again tomorrow in Almaty.
If he goes ahead with it, the three-man defensive line will likely comprise of Raul Asencio, Dean Huijsen, and Alvaro Carreras, who already featured as a left-sided centre-back last week vs Levante.
And, as per the report, Federico Valverde and Fran Garcia, who has not had many minutes this season, will be chosen to play as the wing-backs on the right and left sides, respectively.
More minutes for fringe players
The report also states that Alonso could use tomorrow’s game against Kairat Almaty to rotate and give some of the fringe players in the squad some minutes.
As such, there is a possibility that players like Eduardo Camavinga, who has only recently returned from injury, Brahim Diaz, Rodrygo, and Dani Ceballos could start in Kazakhstan, as per the journalist.
So far in his tenure at Real Madrid, Alonso has not been afraid of making changes and is yet to repeat a single starting lineup in the eight games in all competitions this season.
So, it will not come as a surprise if he goes heavy on rotations against Kairat and uses the game as a chance to provide some much-needed minutes to players like Camavinga, Brahim, and Rodrygo.