Four headline members of Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid squad will be walking the disciplinary tightrope, in taking to the pitch for the first leg of the club’s upcoming Champions League quarter-final tie.
Real, of course, are fresh off booking their spot in the last eight of Europe’s elite club competition.
After battling to a hard-fought 1-0 victory at the Red Bull Arena, a 1-1 home stalemate with RB Leipzig proved enough for Los Blancos to march on courtesy of a 2-1 aggregate triumph.
The capital giants, in turn, will discover the opponent awaiting them in both the quarters, and potentially semis, next Friday.
And, as alluded to above, in lining out against their as of yet undetermined opponents, no fewer than four members of Real’s ranks will be desperate to avoid a yellow card.
The players in question? Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Vinícius Jr.
This quartet all currently find themselves one booking away from a one-game Champions League suspension, with Tchouaméni and Vinícius having joined the list during Los Merengues’ meeting with Leipzig on Wednesday night.
Though Carlo Ancelotti’s squad boasts impressive depth, the Italian will no doubt be keen to have as many of his first-choice XI available for selection as possible for the remainder of Real’s European campaign.
All of Bellingham, Camavinga, Tchouaméni and Vinícius will therefore need to be on their best behaviour next time out.
Conor Laird | GSFN
