Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid team is riding high following last weekend’s thrilling 1-2 victory against Barcelona. They’ve widened their advantage over the competition to four points going into Gameweek 12 of the season.

Both teams now face another difficult climb as Barcelona will take on the high-flying Real Sociedad today, while Real Madrid welcome Rayo Vallecano tomorrow.

Vallecano, led by Francisco Rodriguez, are 8th in the league after 11 games. They have had two losses so far this season. They are, by no means of the margin, minnows, and will be a handful for Real Madrid.

From the looks of the previous five matchups between these two teams, Vallecano has been able to compete with Madrid quite closely.

They have only allowed eight goals in their past five games while scoring five times.

After a week off, Ancelotti will not be overly careful when choosing his starting lineup for Madrid.

Defence: Fran Garcia replaced Ferland Mendy

Since Thibaut Courtois has been out for the whole season with an ACL injury, Kepa Arrizabalaga has stepped up well to fill in at goalkeeper. The Spaniard presently has no competition for the starting goalkeeper position.

David Alaba’s play has caused some concerns, but the Austrian is still likely to start in the middle of the defense with Antonio Rudiger.

Against Barcelona, Ferland Mendy was given the opportunity to start at left back; nevertheless, the Frenchman failed to capitalize and was again taken out in the second half due to injury.

Without him on the field, Madrid Universal will likely turn to Fran Garcia to man the left back position while Daniel Carvajal stays put on the right.

Midfield: Camavinga replaces Tchouameni

After over three months on the sidelines, Aurelien Tchouameni is expected to be replaced by Eduardo Camavinga at the sixth position. Toni Kroos might also start there, although he’ll more likely play inside.

There is really little threat of replacing Federico Valverde. The Uruguayan has been one of Madrid’s top players so far this season, and he is gradually becoming one of the most well-rounded midfielders in the league. He’ll be playing on the right side of the midfield to begin with.

Jude Bellingham, the current Golden Boy, Kopa Award winner, and final member of the four, will anchor the midfield. As expected, he is now in the lead for the Pichichi awards, and he plans to increase that lead tomorrow.

Attack: Joselu starts

The addition of Joselu has been shown to increase Bellingham’s productivity. Remember that the Spanish sub substantially bolstered Madrid’s offensive equilibrium after the break.

Even though Vinicius Jr. played poorly against Barcelona, he is still expected to start in place of Rodrygo.

Substitutions

Arda Guler’s inclusion on Madrid’s squad list after his comeback from injury is huge news. The Turkish international player will enter the game tomorrow, most likely in the second half.

In the meanwhile, Rodrygo will likely be counted on by Ancelotti (assuming he doesn’t start already). The Brazilian will switch places with one of the front attackers in this formation.

After making a huge impact off the bench again in the match against Barcelona, Luka Modric will be given more opportunities to show his value.

If Madrid are winning comfortably in the second half, Lucas Vazquez and Brahim Diaz might also see playing time.