Ancelotti Rings the Bell, Shocking Lineup Against Arsenal, from Starter to K.O.

Today at 9:00 p.m., Spanish time, Real Madrid play the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. It will be against Arsenal in London.

Carletto's team need to clean up the poor image given in the last match at Bernabéu against Valencia. Now, Ancelotti has already made Real Madrid's starting eleven official.

Real Madrid's Starting Eleven for This Champions League Match

These are the eleven players who will start the match today: Courtois; Valverde, Asencio, Rüdiger, Alaba; Camavinga, Modric, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius, and Mbappé.

As we can see, Carletto has opted for an unusual formation in defense with Valverde, Rüdiger, Asencio, and Alaba for the backline. Lucas and Fran García are completely excluded, which shows that he doesn't trust their current performance.

Ancelotti Spoke Yesterday in a Pre-Match Press Conference

The team's coach commented this yesterday:

"The key will be courage, personality... It means trying to do your best and being motivated. An important aspect is executing well the match we've prepared."

"It's very complicated to always be at 100%. It's impossible. We've had many injuries, and that has made rotations more complicated, which at this moment are more necessary than usual."

"We gave Asencio a rest because he was exhausted after the match against Real Sociedad."

"I only think about preparing the match well, and we think we've prepared it well."

"We have in front of us an opponent that does many things well and a complete team: they press well up front, have a low block, and good transitions."

"We have a clear plan, and we'll try to execute it tomorrow. The team is physically well, and tomorrow we can plan a match with intensity."

After the Match, Post-Discussion on Defensa Central's YouTube Channel

Remember that you can follow the match on the 'minute by minute' on our website DefensaCentral.com during the game.

Afterwards, we'll be waiting for you live on Defensa Central's YouTube Channel to talk about everything that happens in this match.

We'll be with our regular channel collaborators and with the connection of José Padilla from the Metropolitano and with Coto Matamoros and Rodra. All in strict live.

We look forward to seeing you!