Having all but officially wrapped up the La Liga title, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti heavily rotated his side in the 1-0 win over Real Sociedad last night. The Italian made numerous changes, for a match that was quasi-dead rubber, and you can expect him to rotate the starters back in on Tuesday night at Bayern Munich.
Having just ousted Manchester City in the last round, one has to regard Madrid as the overall favorites of the competition now.
Real Madrid at Bayern Munich FYIs
Competition: UEFA Champions League Semifinal Leg 1/2
Kickoff: Tue. Apr. 30, 8pm, Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
Team News: Real Madrid Bayern Munich
Starting XI Predictions: Real Madrid Bayern Munich
Win Probability: Real Madrid 34% Draw 26% Bayern Munich 40%
So who will be in his lineup, whether it be 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-2-1-1? Well, they have so few unavailability concerns right now, selection shouldn’t be an issue. We’re guessing that the strongest team possible looks something like this.
Real Madrid Starting XI Prediction at Bayern Munich
Andriy Lunin; Lucas Vaquez, Nacho Fernandes, Eder Militao, Eduardo Camavinga; Toni Kroos, Aurelien Tchouameni; Jude Bellingham; Brahmin Diaz, Vinicius Jr., Joselu
Prediction: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid 1
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.