Valverde starts in a 4-3-3: How Real Madrid could line up against Eintracht Frankfurt | OneFootball

Real Madrid will step up for their fifth UEFA Super Cup final in the last decade when they lock horns against Eintracht Frankfurt tomorrow. Carlo Ancelotti is seeking to win his second Super Cup with Los Blancos, and will stop at no end to achieve that.

Madrid’s Champions League campaign was topsy-turvy, to say the least. They were often thrown into the deep end, but managed to escape unscathed. Eventually, Vinicius Jr’s goal in the final against Liverpool was enough to help them secure their 14th UCL trophy.

Frankfurt are coming off quite a heroic campaign themselves. Tipped against a few favourites of the competition, like Barcelona, West Ham, and Real Betis, Oliver Glasner cruised to the trophy with a superb game plan, and attacking football.

And while Madrid remain, by far and large, the favourites for the tie, Frankfurt have proven to be Goliaths. Ancelotti must prepare accordingly, and the first step towards that is the starting lineup.

Defence

The Italian manager has hinted several times over that the new signings of Aurelien Tchouameni and Antonio Rudiger will not be handed anything on a silver platter despite being important investments.

He has stuck to the lineup that helped him win the Champions League and the big matches in La Liga. Without question that starts with the man who was arguably second only to Karim Benzema for Madrid – Thibaut Courtois.

The Belgian will, we predict, be guarded by a quartet of defenders, led by Eder Militao and David Alaba. Rudiger will probably have to claw his way over one of these two if he wants a shot in the starting XI.

On the right flank, Daniel Carvajal should get the nod ahead of Alvaro Odriozola and Lucas Vazquez, while Ferland Mendy probably takes over responsibility on the left.

Midfield

With French superstars Eduardo Camavinga and Tchouameni knocking on the midfield’s door, Ancelotti might have a hard time deciding who takes the starting spots.

However, depending on his words last week, we can assume Real Madrid’s Bermuda Triangle starts against Frankfurt. This, of course, is in reference to Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, and Casemiro.

No place for Camavinga…yet. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images )

Attack

Karim Benzema has carried on his form from last season into the pre-season, scoring a goal each against Club America and Juventus. He has the chance to lift his first trophy as first-choice Madrid captain, and we highly doubt he’ll let it go to waste.

Much like the Champions League final, Federico Valverde will likely start on the right side of the attacking trio. He assisted the Vinicius’ goal in the UCL final, but more importantly, his relentless pace and pressing will help surpress Frankfurt’s counter-attacks.

The last piece in the puzzle, unsurprisingly, should be Vinicius Jr. The Brazilian has kept himself busy in the pre-season with a ton of interviews, but will be hoping to score another goal in the final tomorrow night.

Vinicius · Benzema · ValverdeKroos · Casemiro · Modric Mendy · Alaba · Militao · Carvajal Courtois