Following a lopsided first leg in London, Real Madrid and Arsenal are set to come face-to-face at the Santiago Bernabéu in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Two Brilliant free kicks from Declan Rice led Arsenal to a dominant 3–0 victory against Real Madrid at the Emirates. The Gunners held the Spanish giants, featuring Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior, goalless in the first leg, setting themselves up for a potential trip to the Champions League semifinals.
Standing in their way, though, are Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti’s men might be trailing by three goals, but they are more than capable of completing a comeback at the Santiago Bernabéu if Arsenal leave the door open.
Both sides are still dealing with various injuries and will not be at full strength for the second leg of the tie. The Gunners will be without the injured Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Takehiro Tomiyasu. Thomas Partey and Jorginho also remain doubts after they both picked up minor issues at the weekend.
Los Blancos, meanwhile, are still missing the injured Ferland Mendy, Andriy Lunin, Éder Militão and Dani Carvajal. The good news for Ancelotti, though, is that Aurélien Tchouaméni is back from suspension and Dani Ceballos is back from injury.
Here’s how both sides could line up in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Standing in their way, though, are Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti’s men might be trailing by three goals, but they are more than capable of completing a comeback at the Santiago Bernabéu if Arsenal leave the door open.
Both sides are still dealing with various injuries and will not be at full strength for the second leg of the tie. The Gunners will be without the injured Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Takehiro Tomiyasu. Thomas Partey and Jorginho also remain doubts after they both picked up minor issues at the weekend.
Los Blancos, meanwhile, are still missing the injured Ferland Mendy, Andriy Lunin, Éder Militão and Dani Carvajal. The good news for Ancelotti, though, is that Aurélien Tchouaméni is back from suspension and Dani Ceballos is back from injury.
Here’s how both sides could line up in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs. Real Madrid (4-3-3)
GK: David Raya—The Spaniard will look to keep a second consecutive clean sheet against Real Madrid.
RB: Jurrien Timber—Timber won the most duels (eight) in the first leg and brilliantly locked down Vinícius Júnior.
CB: William Saliba—Saliba will need to weather the storm in the opening 20 minutes at the Santiago Bernabéu.
CB: Jakub Kiwior—The defender had some shaky moments against Mbappé, but overall stepped up in a major way against Real Madrid.
LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly—Not only did the 18-year-old shine in his defensive efforts last Tuesday, but he also set Mikel Merino up for Arsenal’s third goal.
CM: Declan Rice—The England international was the star of the first leg, scoring two spectacular free kicks to turn the game on its head.
CM: Thomas Partey—The midfielder was forced to come off the pitch against Brentford at the weekend due to injury, but he returned to training and looks ready to start on Wednesday.
CM: Martin Ødegaard—Ødegaard will hope to mark his return to his former club with another statement performance.
RW: Bukayo Saka—Arsenal are a different team with Saka on the right wing. The 23-year-old was a nightmare for Alaba to defend at the Emirates.
ST: Mikel Merino—The midfielder-turned-striker might have had just 30 touches in the first leg, but he only needed one to find the back of the net.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli—Martinelli is one of the few Arsenal players that logged 90 minutes at the weekend.
SI.com
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