MADRID.- The technician Carlo Ancelotti will have to deal with two more absences in his already decimated team when the leader Real Madrid host Sevilla this weekend in the Spanish League.
Ancelotti will be without the suspended Eduardo Camavinga and defender Dani Carvajal on Sunday.
Carvajal was sent off last Sunday at the end of the 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano, while Camavinga received his fifth yellow card to receive an automatic suspension.
Madrid is six points ahead of Girona, its immediate second team, which will host Rayo on Monday. The meringues have eight points more than Barcelona, third in the table, and 11 more than Atlético de Madrid.
There are five Madrid players ruled out through injury, including Jude Bellingham with a sprained ankle and defender Antonio Rüdiger with a thigh injury. While goalkeeper Thibaut Curtois and central defenders David Alaba and Éder Militão are recovering from knee ligament injuries.
Ancelotti has had to improvise by using midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni as a centre-back in recent duels. Lucas Vázquez is expected to replace Carvajal on Sunday and Luka Modric will possibly play in place of Camavinga in midfield.
Madrid opted not to sign another defender during the winter transfer window. Ancelotti indicated that his players were enough to counteract the absences due to injury.
The good news is that they will have Ferland Mendy back at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium after serving a suspension.
Reunion with Real Madrid:
Now as a Sevilla player, central defender Sergio Ramos will return to the Bernabéu for the first time since March 2020.
Ramos played for Madrid for 16 years, a period in which he won five Spanish League titles and another four in the Champions League.
“I’m going to feel at home because I’ve spent many years there, with the most important moments of my career and I have wonderful memories of the fans, of my teammates,” Ramos said in an interview with DAZN. “It will be “a unique and emotional moment.”
Sevilla, 15th in the standings, has just drawn 0-0 with Valencia after achieving two wins in a row to help its team get out of the relegation zone.
Source: AP
