"Can confirm that I will not watch" "Ancelotti is playing with fire" - Real Madrid fans feel midfielder's absence could cost them the game against Girona

Los Blancos saw their undefeated run across all competitions come to an end on Wednesday (October 25). They fell to a 3-2 away defeat against RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League.

They will be looking to return to winning ways today. A home game against 19th-placed Girona, who are winless in their last six league outings, seems to be a good opportunity to do so.

Ballon d'Or winning striker Karim Benzema was ruled out of the game with muscle fatigue and will play no part in the game. It seems Rodrygo Goes will play as the lone striker.

While Benzema's omission from the squad was expected, Real Madrid fans were unhappy with Carlo Ancelotti's decision to leave Tchouameni on the bench. The 22-year-old midfielder has impressed in his debut season and is slowly becoming a fan favorite.

He joined the club from AS Monaco for €100 million and has registered two assist in 16 matches across all competitions so far.

One of the fans said, with Tchouaméni on the bench, he had no plans to watch the game. They tweeted:

Another fan warned that benching Tchouaméni is a risky move and said Ancelotti was playing with fire. They tweeted:

Fans were vocal on Twitter to express their dismay at the decision and here are some of the top tweets for the same.

Real Madrid name an interesting lineup as they look to bounce back from their first loss of the season

Real Madrid's defeat against RB Leipzig in the Champions League would have been a blow to their confidence.

Benzema missed the game through an injury. That raised a few concerns as to whether the club's attacking game is heavily reliant on the Frenchman. Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo scored in that game and have been named in the starting XI here.

It was not their attack that was at fault though as they shipped in two early goals, which put them on the back foot. Ancelotti has called back David Alaba, Dani Carvajal, and Ferland Mendy in the lineup, so we expect a much better defensive performance from them against Girona.

Veteran midfielder Luka Modric is the captain for the game and he will be looking to put in another impressive display in the middle of the park.

Barcelona have moved to the top of the La Liga table with a 1-0 win over Valencia, thanks to Robert Lewandowski's injury-time winner on October 29.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have 31 points to their name and the reigning champions will be looking to regain their top spot with a win here.

About the author

Shubham is a football journalist with a wealth of experience. It was Zidane's infamous headbutt at the 2006 World Cup final that got him hooked on to the sport. Shubham contributed to the 2022 FIFA World Cup coverage at Sportskeeda, producing match previews and even minute-to-minute live blogs. Apart from writing articles, he is adept at fact-checking and researching trends, and at communicating with the editorial team.

For all fans, he has one message: "Football is my cup of tea, let's talk football over a cup of tea."

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