Official: Real Madrid starting lineup against Real Sociedad – Guler, Endrick start | OneFootball

Real Madrid will lock horns with Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg in a couple of hours at the Reale Arena.

Ahead of the big game against the Basque club, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has announced the starting lineup with several major changes.

The big news is that Arda Guler and Endrick, who have struggled for minutes this season, are named in the starting XI by Ancelotti in place of Rodrygo Goes and Kylian Mbappe, with the latter not even in the squad.

Guler and Endrick partner Vinicius Jr. in the Real Madrid attack, with the Brazilian captaining the team for the first time ever.

Jude Bellingham returns to the team as the attacking midfielder, having missed the win vs Girona due to suspension. The England international will have Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Ceballos in the middle of the park, with Luka Modric getting benched.

Meanwhile, Aurelien Tchouameni moves to the centre-back position where he partners Antonio Rudiger. David Alaba drops to the bench while Raul Asencio replaces Lucas Vazquez at right-back.

Fran Garcia gets the nod ahead of Ferland Mendy at left-back while Andriy Lunin starts in goal for the cup tie.