Real Madrid Starting XI vs Arsenal: Confirmed team news and predicted lineup

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·8 aprile 2025

Real Madrid Starting XI vs Arsenal: Confirmed team news and predicted lineup

Real Madrid Predicted Lineup: Tactical Tweaks and Familiar Firepower at the Emirates

Somewhere between chaos and calculation, Carlo Ancelotti scribbles names. Eleven of them, to be precise, with enough talent among them to outscore most countries, never mind a depleted Arsenal side in April. The Champions League quarter-final is Real Madrid’s natural habitat — a place where the grass is trimmed short, the lights shine a little brighter, and football is played with a knowing smirk.

Courtois Returns as Real Reclaim Composure

The goalkeeping subplot has taken a curious turn. With Andriy Lunin sidelined and poor Fran Gonzalez thrown to the lions at the weekend, Thibaut Courtois has emerged like a plot twist in the third act. “Fully fit,” he insists, and it appears Madrid’s skyscraper in goal will be back between the posts — just in time to face a side not known for mercy.

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Photo IMAGO

Defensive Holes and Midfield Balancing Acts

Madrid’s back line, meanwhile, resembles a game of musical chairs with the music paused too soon. No Carvajal. No Militao. No Mendy. Enter Lucas Vazquez and Nacho Fernandez, versatile in the way gaffer’s tape is versatile — not ideal, but it holds the structure together.

Photo IMAGO

Tchouameni, ever the metronome in midfield, is suspended. So, Ancelotti turns to Camavinga and Valverde, two midfielders capable of morphing into whatever the moment demands: press-breakers, ball-carriers, occasional full-backs.

Photo: IMAGO

Firepower That Needs No Introduction

Up top, it’s less a frontline and more a festival. Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior — 51 goals between them and more chaos than a summer transfer window. Rodrygo adds the dynamism, Bellingham brings the narrative, and suddenly the lineup isn’t just predicted — it’s inevitable.