Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti will drop a big name from his starting line-up when Kylian Mbappe is reintroduced against Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday.

At a pre-match press conference in the Spanish capital on Friday afternoon, Ancelotti noted that the visitors, who were the last team to outlast his men at the Bernabeu, have done “very well” so far this season, with the game of tonight Los Blancos “an opportunity for us to reconnect, to play good football again.”

Madrid, of course, saw its 36-match unbeaten run end in a crash in the Champions League against Lille in midweek, leading to what some called exaggerated talk of a crisis.

Ancelotti did not want to put such labels on the criticism, noting that everyone is entitled to an opinion, and he also made it publicly clear what he believes is wrong with his team.

“There are times when you need to reconnect, and it needs to be done quickly,” he emphasized.

“Sometimes a good run makes you believe you are invincible, but a defeat puts you back in touch with reality. We are not yet at our level, we have players who are not at their best level. (But) we are not far from where we want There is a lack of defensive intensity, and offensively the ball circulation is (also) lacking.

In the four-man midfield, Eduardo Camavinga is the lone pivot behind Luka Modric, Fede Valverde and Jude Bellingham, the most advanced of the quartet, looking to feed the ball to a surprising attacking duo.

Those are Kylian Mbappé, who returns from injury earlier than planned, and Vinicius Jr., while Rodrygo is subbed off to complete a 4-4-2.

Back in defence, Andriy Lunin’s goal is protected by Ferland Mendy, Toni Rudiger, Aurelien Tchouameni and Dani Carvajal.

With the Catalans not playing until Sunday, the aim here would be to pick up a win and draw level with bitter rivals FC Barcelona, ​​before taking on Alaves in the away match.

Real Madrid First XI Vs. Alaves: Lunin; Mendy, Rudiger, Tchouameni, Carvajal; Camavinga, Modric, Valverde, Bellingham; Vinicius, Mbappe