Praise is low; Xavi bets on meritocracy and balance

Last minute drop in the Real Madrid lineup. David Alaba will not play the Classic of the Super Cup. The defender suffers muscle discomfort in one leg and Carlo Ancelotti has not only removed him from the eleven but has also discarded him from the call final to face Barcelona in the first semifinal of the Spanish Super Cup. The replacement for the Austrian center-back will be Nacho. Also surprise in Xavi’s eleven. At the press conference prior to the semifinal match of the Super Cup, the coach assured that his idea was to reward meritocracy and that whoever had won it would play. The proof is the ownership of Luuk de Jong. The Dutch center forward has scored two games in a row and Xavi wants to reward his commitment. Despite knowing that he is on the market, the ex-Sevilla player was put, for example, professionalism by the technician. Luuk will form the attack line with Ferran Torres and Dembélé.

Real Madrid: Carvajal returns to eleven

Except for the loss of Alaba, Ancelotti opts for his gala eleven for the first semifinal of the Spanish Super Cup. Carvajal returns to the right side After overcoming his physical problems and Asensio once again prevailed in the competition to occupy the right flank of the Madrid attack.

It will be David Alaba’s third absence this season. The defender had only missed two games so far. He did not play against Celta, in the reopening of the Bernabéu, after returning from the first team break with an overload and could not dispute the clash against Athletic in San Mamés after having tested positive. As it already happened in that last game in 2021, Nacho will be Militao’s partner in the axis of the rear.

The other novelty compared to last Saturday’s eleven against Valencia is the return of Carvajal to the right side. The youth squad had missed the last seven games due to muscle discomfort and was following a specific plan to get to the Super Cup without risking.

With these two changes, the rest of the Real Madrid starting team is the one that can be recited almost in a rush this season. Ancelotti starts with: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Asensio, Benzema and Vinicius. On the bench will be: Lunin, Vallejo, Marcelo, Camavinga, Valverde, Isco, Ceballos, Lucas Vázquez, Rodrygo, Hazard and Jovic. The Super Cup regulations allow 11 substitutes, one less than in the League, so Ancelotti has also had to leave Toni Fuidias out of the final list.

Barcelona: Xavi saves Nico

Luuk de Jong receives the starting award from Xavi after scoring in the last two games. The coach will look for the goal with Torres’ debut, he prefers Frenkie’s stripes and saves Nico for the second half.

Alves and the injured Araújo, who underwent surgery on Friday, will be the double defense against Vinicius. For his part, Dembélé faces his last chance to try to fix four disastrous years.