Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that he will make changes to his starting side for Saturday's La Liga contest with Getafe.
Los Blancos will enter this weekend's match off the back of a 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at Bernabeu.
Vinicius Junior sent Real Madrid ahead in the 36th minute of the contest, before Kevin De Bruyne levelled in the 67th minute, leaving the tie delicately poised ahead of the return game in Manchester next week.
Anything other than a win over Getafe on Saturday would end Real Madrid's chances of winning the La Liga title, but they are 14 points behind leaders Barcelona, who can secure the championship on Sunday evening if they overcome Espanyol in the Catalan derby.
Ancelotti has insisted that his side are focused on Saturday's game, but the Italian will make alterations with one eye on next week's gigantic game at the Etihad Stadium.
"We want to win tomorrow. Our focus is not on City," he told reporters during Friday's press conference.
"[Thibaut] Courtois will play tomorrow. Vinicius, we will see whether he starts or not. But he will play tomorrow. I talked to him, he feels very good. Vinicius is the best player in the world, or very close to be.
"We will play a very demanding game tomorrow, against a team that's fighting relegation so I will use a fresh and energetic XI. Some players are tired, so I won't risk them tomorrow.
"I won't tell you who will play tomorrow because I don't want to give Getafe an advantage."
Ancelotti also confirmed that Ferland Mendy will be back in the squad following a calf injury, but Karim Benzema, David Alaba and Rodrygo are set to be among those rested.
"Benzema, Alaba, and Rodrygo received some blows on Tuesday," said the Italian.
Dani Carvajal will be unavailable for selection against Getafe due to the red card that he picked up in the team's last La Liga game with Real Sociedad earlier this month.
Lucas Vazquez, Alvaro Odriozola, Eden Hazard, Dani Ceballos, Mariano Diaz and Marco Asensio will be among those hoping to earn starting roles against a Getafe side battling relegation.
Ancelotti, meanwhile, is said to be considering switching to a 4-4-2 formation for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Man City.
Rodrygo may therefore drop down to the bench, with Eduardo Camavinga playing in a narrow midfield alongside Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Federico Valverde; Eder Militao could therefore return in the middle of the defence, which would likely to see David Alaba switch across to left-back. body check tags ::
