Four days after the defeat in the third Champions League game, injury-plagued Real Madrid have to host Getafe in La Liga.

Four months into the 2024-25 season, Real Madrid have already recorded twice as many defeats (4) as they did in the whole of last season (2). Carlo Ancelotti’s men crashed out in the Champions League against Liverpool, suffering a decisive 2-0 defeat. It was the second time in five games that Los Blancos failed to get on the scoresheet.

Real Madrid’s evening at Anfield got even worse when Eduardo Camavinga suffered a muscle injury in the biceps femoris of his left leg. The midfielder is now in the hospital alongside Vinícius Júnior, Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, David Alaba and Aurélien Tchouaméni. However, Rodrygo returned to training and gave Ancelotti’s side a much-needed injury boost.

Despite their struggles in the Champions League, Real Madrid are still largely in control of their La Liga title defense. The Spanish champions are four points behind Barcelona with a game to go and need to pick up three points against 15th-placed Getafe to keep the pressure on the Catalans.

This is what Real Madrid’s team could look like on December 1st.

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TW: Thibaut Courtois– Despite his heroics, Courtois couldn’t stop Liverpool from finding the back of the net twice. The Belgian will be looking to keep a clean sheet in his 250th game for Los Blancos.

RB: Lucas Vazquez—The Spaniard returned from injury against Liverpool and will take his place on the right wing.

CB: Raul Asencio– After his impressive Champions League debut, the 21-year-old is in the starting line-up for the third time in a row.

CB: Antonio Rüdiger—The German international brings a much-needed physical presence to Real Madrid’s weakened defense.

LB: Fran Garcia– After Ferland Mendy’s disappointing performance against the Reds, we can expect Fran García to get the nod in Sunday’s game.

RM: Fede Valverde—The Uruguayan is allowed to return to midfield after being Ancelotti’s backup right-back.

CM: Luka Modrić– The 39-year-old continues to log heavy minutes despite his age as Real Madrid battle an injury crisis. Modrić’s creativity boosts Los Blancos’ sometimes aimless midfield.

CM: Dani Ceballos– With Camavinga injured, Ceballos is the next man to join Ancelotti’s midfield. The Spaniard has only played four La Liga games this season.

LM: Jude Bellingham– With Valverde and Ceballos in midfield, Bellingham should have much more freedom to link up with Díaz and Mbappé compared to their defensive-focused game against the Reds.

ST: Brahim Diaz—Díaz failed to achieve anything against Liverpool, but the Morocco international should have more success against a Getafe side that has kept just one clean sheet in its last six La Liga games.

ST: Kylian Mbappe—The Frenchman will be looking to bounce back from another disappointing performance, which included a missed penalty. Without Vinícius Júnior, Mbappé is still the team’s top scorer.

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