Surprise at Real Madrid: the star Ancelotti left out of the XI vs Rayo Vallecano

Real Madrid are getting better and better in La Liga. They achieved in the last few weeks some victories in key matches that allowed them to consolidate their position as the leaders of the league table and take a considerable lead over their main rivals. They are now at the top with 61 points, 5 more than Girona and 7 more than Barcelona, who on Saturday beat Celta in Vigo in the last minute.

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Now Los Merengues will have the challenge of beating Rayo Vallecano at the Vallecas Stadium and get even closer to the goal of winning the Spanish league title. This matchday 25 could be decisive, considering that Girona will have a difficult match against Athletic Bilbao at the Nuevo San Mamés on Monday and could be far away from the top.

For this match, coach Carlo Ancelotti made an unexpected decision: he took one of the stars of the squad, Rodrygo Goes, out of the starting lineup and included in his place Joselu to accompany Vinicius Junior in the attack. In addition, Luka Modric will have the opportunity to start, after several matches in which he hardly had any participation, which had caused rumors about his possible departure once the season ends.

Real Madrid's lineup will be: Andriy Lunin; Lucas Vázquez, Nacho, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Francisco García; Federico Valverde, Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga; Brahim Diaz, Joselu, Vinicius Junior. In addition, on the bench will be Kepa Arrizabalaga, Diego Piñeiro, Jacobo Ramon, Daniel Carvajal, Dani Ceballos, Toni Kroos, Arda Guler and Rodrygo Goes.

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They need to win

Rayo Vallecano are in an uncomfortable situation in the standings. With 24 points, they are in 15th place and only 7 points away from the relegation zone. That is why every game until the end of the season will be key for them. Coach Iñigo Perez chose this XI: Stole Dimitrievski; Ivan Balliu, Aridane Hernandez, Florian Lejeune, Alfonso Espino; Isi Palazon, Unai Lopez, Oscar Valentin, Alvaro Garcia; Raul de Tomas, Oscar Trejo.