Carlo Ancelotti announces Real Madrid squad for La Liga clash against Villareal

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, have announced their squad for this Saturday’s game at the Estadio de La Ceramica against Villarreal.

Carlo Ancelotti is taking 21 players with the inclusion of Víctor Valdepenas, an 18-year-old defender who has played for both the Juvenil and Madrid C and Castilla this season.

Valdepenas, an 18-year-old left-back, is another of La Fábrica’s interesting projects. The novelty comes from the absence of Ferland Mendy, who suffered an injury to the biceps femoris in his left leg in the European derby against Atletico Madrid. The Frenchman will miss the international break and we will have to see how he evolves before the Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal.

Fran Garcia is set to start at La Ceramica with Eduardo Camavinga’s second choice, although the injury to Ceballos means that Ancelotti is calling on his services in midfield rather than on the left wing. For Valdepenas, it is a good opportunity to get to know the group dynamics of Real Madrid.

This season he has made 22 appearances for the youth team, including seven in the Youth League where he has played both at full-back and as a winger, as well as four for Real Madrid C and another six for Castilla. Raul called him up last week in the 0-0 draw against Sevilla Atletico, although he was not given minutes.

The winger was absent from training on Friday and this set off alarm bells, although hours later, Carlo Ancelotti reassured the players that ‘he was tired’ and that the coaching staff had given him ‘one more day’. The Brazilian will play as normal against Villarreal. Ferland Mendy’s absence is in addition to those of the injured Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Jesus Vallejo and Dani Ceballos.

Full squad for Real Madrid vs Villarreal
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Andriy Lunin, Fran Gonzalez.

Defenders: David Alaba, Lucas Vazquez, Fran Garcia, Antonio Rudiger, Raul Asencio, Diego Aguado, Víctor Valdepeñas.

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Fede Valverde, Luka Modric, Aurelien Tchouameni, Arda Guler.

Forwards: Vinicius Jr, Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo, Endrick, Brahim Diaz.