Real Madrid Vs. Albacete Line Up: It’s A New Era Under Alvaro Arbeloa
New Real Madrid head coach Alvarao Arbeloa will field a number of fringe players and usual substitutes for his first game in charge, which is a Copa del Rey last 16 trip to Albacete.
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New Real Madrid head coach Alvarao Arbeloa will field a number of fringe players and usual substitutes for his first game in charge, which is a Copa del Rey last 16 trip to Albacete.
Arbeloa has taken over from his close friend Xabi Alonso, who was dismissed following a Monday afternoon discussion with President Florentino Perez and a 3-2 loss in the Spanish Super Cup final to FC Barcelona.
Madrid of course lost the Copa del Rey final to its bitter rival last term, and while it is still alive in La Liga and the Champions League, that first-mentioned competition could provide a manager new to the elite with a strong chance of clinching silverware if his star players can’t take him all the way in the others.
An away trip to Albacete, and league hosting of relegation-threatened Levante at the Bernabeu, should be relatively smooth affairs to bed Arbeloa in, and the coach will make some rotations compared to what the usual line up would be.
Real Madrid will field some fringe and back up players
In goal, Andriy Lunin comes in for Thibaut Courtois, and his goal is protected by a back line of Fran Garcia, Dean Huijsen, Raul Asencio and David Jimenez from left to right.
In midfield, Aurelien Tchouameni is a lone pivot behind Jude Bellingham, plus an Arda Guler who started to feature more under Alonso at the start of the season but increasingly less in recent weeks during the Super Cup.
Franco Mastantuono has a chance to impress after falling flat since his $70 million (€60 million) move from River Plate, and he features on the right hand side of the attack while Vinicius is on the left.
With Kylian Mbappe still recovering from a knee knock which meant he was only introduced around a quarter of an hour until the end in the Super Cup final, Gonzalo Garcia is the lone striker.
What new Real Madrid coach Arbeloa said
“This club is about winning, winning and winning again. That demand shows the DNA of what has led us here, and to have that record and the trophy cabinets full of trophies. When I was a player I received those values from the people who were in that dressing room. They are still present and that is the important thing. We want to excite all the fans around the world and try to help those cabinets be fuller. It’s my job and what I’m going to live for every day.”
Real Madrid vs. Albacete starts at 21:00 in Spain.
