Two substitute midfielders can get minutes as Real Madrid take on Real Betis with a weakened midfield | OneFootball

Real Madrid have another crucial match awaiting them as they take on Real Betis in their upcoming La Liga tie. The Merengues are currently placed second on the league table, being on equal points with FC Barcelona, and are only a single point ahead of Atletico Madrid. Thus, they cannot afford to lose any points in this tight league race.

However, this game can prove to be quite a tough nut to crack for Carlo Ancelotti, as he is travelling to Andalusia with quite a weakened squad, composed only of 19 players.

In addition to the long-term absences of Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao, the Italian tactician will also be without Fede Valverde and Dani Ceballos for this game, as they both are not fit.

Similarly, Jude Bellingham will also not be available as he will be serving the second game for the two-match ban he got for alleged verbal abuse against the referee from the match against Osasuna.

Thus, Los Blancos will have to field a midfield without some of the most regular starters this season, i.e., Bellingham and Valverde. Aurelien Tchouameni will be the only regular starter in midfield for this game, and Ancelotti will have to pick at least two other colleagues for him in this area of the pitch.

Luckily, even with these absences, the Real Madrid coach will have several options available to field a highly competitive midfield for this game.

One of the options for this game will definitely be Luka Modric, who, despite being 39 years of age, continues to showcase his class whenever he gets the chance. He was at his best only last week when he proved to be the game-changer for the Merengues in the match against Girona.

In that game, he scored a wonderful goal, one that truly reflected his class as a player, before setting up a counter that resulted in another goal for the Vikings. The Croat has started only 9 La Liga games this season but has still been named in the league’s team of the week 4 times.

According to Sofascore statistics, the veteran midfielder has scored 2 goals and provided 3 assists in La Liga, and still remains immaculate with his passing, recording a 91% accuracy rate and providing 1.7 key passes on average in each game.

Eduardo Camavinga will be another very good option for Ancelotti for one of the midfield spots. He has struggled with injuries this season and has been able to play only 11 league games this season, starting 7 of them. The Frenchman has also been erratic at times, with the penalty he gave away in the match against Osasuna still fresh in most fans’ minds.

However, he still brings a lot of energy and dynamism to the midfield, which is quite apparent by his 62% success rate in duels. His defensive contributions are also quite good, as he averages 2.3 tackles, 4.7 ball recoveries, 0.8 clearances, and 0.7 interventions on average.

Lastly, Arda Guler will be another option for Ancelotti, and he can get another start and a chance to showcase his skills after playing in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Sociedad.

However, before that start, the Turk had seen his minutes dry up, and he has only started 6 La Liga games this season, his last appearance coming in the match against Real Valladolid on 26th January.

Still, he has been able to get 1 goal and 3 assists to his name and has provided 1.1 key passes in every game on average. Most Real Madrid fans will be keen to see him start against keeping in view his potential to grow into one of the best attacking midfielders in the future.

It remains to be seen which of these options Ancelotti will wield in the match tonight. But there is no shortage of options for the Italian tactician, and all of these three midfielders can provide very different advantages on the pitch.