Real Madrid XI vs Valencia: Confirmed teams news and starting lineups for Spanish Supercopa
Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard are all absent as Real Madrid take on Valencia in the semi-finals of the Spanish Supercopa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
Madrid announced on Monday that both Benzema and Bale had been ruled out, and Luka Jovic leads the attack in a rare chance to shine.
Hazard, who turned 29 on Tuesday, is also still sidelined with an ankle injury sustained in the 2-2 draw at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in November.
Marco Asensio is out as well with a long-term problem, but James Rodriguez and Marcelo are back from injury and on the bench.
Captain Sergio Ramos starts after he missed Saturday’s 3-0 win at Getafe through suspension.
Valencia, meanwhile, will be without striker Rodrigo Moreno after the Spanish international sprained his knee in the 1-0 win over Eibar at the weekend.
Goncalo Guedes, Cristiano Piccini and Manu Vallejo are also out.
Goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen is available again after injury, but coach Albert Celades could keep faith in Jaume Domenech after some impressive performances from the 29-year-old in recent weeks.
Real Madrid lineup: Courtois, Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Mendy, Kroos, Modric, Casemiro, Valverde, Jovic, Isco
Subs: Areola, Militao, Marcelo, James, Mariano, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo
Valencia lineup: Domenech, Paulista, Kondogbia, Soler, Gameiro, Parejo, Gaya, Coquelin, Wass, Ferran, Garay
Subs to follow.
