Real Madrid Expected Lineup & Team News Vs. AC Milan

Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti will come face to face with a club where he is an iconic figure as Real Madrid play AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday night, with a 9pm kick-off in local time (CET).

Los Blancos should be in good shape for this fixture having had an extended rest period due to the postponement of their fixture against Valencia at the weekend following major flooding in the city on Spain’s east coast. That has meant that Real Madrid have still not played since a 4-0 loss in the Clásico 10 days ago.

This will not be the first time that Ancelotti will face his former club, having played against them 15 times as a coach before, with a record of only five wins, seven draws and three defeats, though this will notably be his first meeting with Milan as coach of a foreign team, and his first in any competition since leaving Napoi in 2019.

The game will also attract headlines as it will be the first appearance of Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior since he was a no-show at the Ballon d’Or ceremony as he missed out on the prize to Manchester City midfielder Rodri. On the topic, the coach reflected that, “He’s normal. He realizes what’s happening. Fortunately, we didn’t play on Saturday and Vinicius has trained well, like everyone else. He is sad, like us, but not because of the Ballon d’Or, but because he is seeing the situation in Valencia.”

Real Madrid team news vs. AC Milan

Real Madrid have no new injury concerns going into this tie, meaning that they are only without long-term injury absentees David Alaba, Dani Carvajal and, most recently, Thibaut Courtois, who is still sidelined with a muscle problem which was caused in the last Champions League game against Borussia Dortmund at the Bernabéu.

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In fact, there is good news as forward Rodrygo Goes has rejoined training and has made the matchday squad. That gives Ancelotti another option to contend with as he plans his offensive strategy to take on his former club. The Brazilian had been sidelined for the crucial game against Barcelona after picking up a muscle injury late on in the victory over Borussia Dortmund, but is now back in action.

In terms of suspensions, the full squad is available, though it should be noted that captain Luka Modrić will serve a suspension in the next game, against Liverpool later this month, if he is shown a yellow card against Milan which would be his third in four games in the Champions League this season.

Expected Real Madrid lineup vs. AC Milan

Expected Real Madrid lineup vs. AC Milan: Andriy Lunin; Lucas Vázquez, Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy; Aurélien Tchouameni, Fede Valverde, Luka Modrić, Jude Bellingham; Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior.

One change is expected from the side who fell to a heavy defeat against FC Barcelona, and that is likely to see Croatian veteran Luka Modrić recalled in midfield in place of French youngster Eduardo Camavinga.

Modrić’s recall is set to be the only switch made to the team with the intention of adding more security and experience in the middle, in part to help free up Jude Bellingham and give him more freedom to join the attack with fewer defensive responsibilities.