Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Levante | La Liga MD 20

Real Madrid return home wounded, but are not expected to find any comfort facing their own fans tomorrow at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Having lost the Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona and then being knocked out of the Copa del Rey by a relegation-threatened second-division side, Real Madrid return embarrassed and must expect a hostile atmosphere at their own home.

On the afternoon, they take on Levante in La Liga and their objective will be to stay within touching distance of Barcelona who currently have a four-point lead. It will, however, not be easy for a team in sporting and managerial jeopardy.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Levante.

Desperate need for a win

The past week has been one of the most disastrous ones in Real Madrid’s recent history for a big part of their season virtually crumbled in front of the team’s eyes as they helplessly watched it go down in flames.

Real Madrid’s defeat against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup saw Los Blancos miss out on their first title of the season – one that would have gone a long way in rebuilding the team’s confidence and possibly saving Xabi Alonso’s job.

That defeat, however, broke the dressing room and led to massive changes on the sidelines – just before the team’s game against Albacete in the Copa del Rey.

Just days after losing the Super Cup final, Real Madrid shockingly lost to Albacete in the Cup and saw themselves eliminated from the tournament, thus removing one more trophy from their hopes.

With two gut-wrenching defeats, Real Madrid enter the game against Levante in desperate need of a win.

For starters, the dressing room needs a serious morale boost, and a win tomorrow will go some way in ensuring the same. Concurrently, however, La Liga is now the only domestic competition left for Real Madrid and they cannot afford to fall further behind Barcelona.

Big names return to the squad

Back in the squad. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Alvaro Arbeloa made some contentious decisions in the buildup to his first game as the Real Madrid first-team manager – right from his selection of the squad travelling to face Albacete.

While Kylian Mbappe’s rest was understandable given that he had rushed back to play some part against Barcelona, the manager left behind several mainstays and did not even include them on the squad list.

The likes of Jude Bellingham, Thibaut Courtois, and Alvaro Carreras were all rested in addition while the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Rodrygo and others missed through physical problems.

As Real Madrid prepare for the Levante clash, however, the new manager has called up the likes of Bellingham, Carreras, and Courtois back to the squad and all three players will likely return to the starting XI fresh.

Mbappe is back in the squad too and could see some minutes, although it is doubtful if he is fit enough to start.

Needless to say, that comes as a massive boost for the management and Arbeloa’s plans – not only in terms of upgrading the starting XI but also in terms of having valuable options on the bench.

A testing game for Vinicius

Kylian Mbappe’s absence, needless to say, shifts the spotlight on Vinicius Jr. who is naturally the next in charge as the team’s attacking talisman.

The Brazilian, however, has not done particularly well for the men in white in recent times and the pressure is slowly but surely building on him.

Vinicius’ moment of brilliance against Barcelona in the Super Cup final showed that he still has it in him and also served to partially take the pressure off his shoulders. The player, however, did not earn himself any favours with his Cup performance midweek.

Starting against Albacete, there was a real sense of expectation from Vinicius but he delivered an exceedingly poor display despite all the praises Arbeloa sang of him in the post-match press conference.

However, the Brazilian did not create many chances of value, did not create any direct goalscoring threat, and returns to the Santiago Bernabeu having failed to help the team stay alive in the Cup.

Vinicius has been booed at the Bernabeu in recent games, and nothing points to anything being different tomorrow. The game against Levante, in many ways, will be a test for him to prove his status as the team’s leader to the fans once more.

After all, there is a sense that fans are quickly running out of patience with his inconsistency and antics.