Official: Real Madrid starting lineup against Juventus | UEFA Champions League

Real Madrid will square off against Juventus on Matchday 3 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League in under a couple of hours.

With kickoff at the Santiago Bernabeu not far away, manager Xabi Alonso has announced the Real Madrid starting lineup that will take the field against the Serie A bigwigs.

There are some interesting changes made by the Real Madrid boss, with Arda Guler returning to the starting lineup after an impactful cameo against Getafe over the weekend.

Vinicius Jr., who also featured off the bench at the weekend, starts in attack alongside Kylian Mbappe, while Brahim Diaz gets a rare starting opportunity ahead of Franco Mastantuono on the right.

Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni partner up with Guler in the midfield department for the Merengues.

In defence, Federico Valverde slots in at right-back once again in the absence of Dani Carvajal and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Uruguayan also captains the team.

Raul Asencio and Eder Militao form the centre-back pairing for the home team, with Alvaro Carreras on the left. Thibaut Courtois mans the goal as usual.

The likes of Mastantuono, Rodrygo Goes, Gonzalo Garcia, and Endrick are all options to change things up in attack for Alonso if needed.

Speaking to Radio MARCA, Fernando Roig Negueroles, the CEO of Villarreal CF, criticised Real Madrid over their opposition to La Liga’s plan to host a game in the USA.

The league had planned to hold the game between Villarreal and Barcelona in Miami in December, moving it from the Yellow Submarines’ home ground Estadio de La Ceramica.

However, the proposal was met with staunch opposition from several other La Liga clubs, with Real Madrid at the forefront, as well as the Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE).

Ultimately, La Liga announced late on Tuesday that the proposed match in Miami will not go ahead, much to the frustration of president Javier Tebas, as well as the two clubs involved – Villarreal and Barça.

Villarreal CEO critical of Real Madrid

During his chat with the aforementioned outlet, Negueroles was extremely critical of Real Madrid and the position that they took in the matter.

“Real Madrid acts as if they are against everyone. Two weeks ago, I was in Rome at the ECA meeting, and at the European level, Real Madrid are gradually losing influence because no one believes them anymore,” said the Villarreal executive.

“At the Spanish level, especially in the media, you still give a lot of importance to what Real Madrid say.”

Not stopping at that, he added: “They are losing credibility because they object to everything, even good things, like this same match that they approved three or four years ago in a commission.

“Now they are changing their mind because they want to be against everyone. Their problem is that they complain about everything, even if something is in their favour, they will find a reason to object.”

Real Madrid had a big role in ensuring the match did not take place outside Spain.

Apart from writing to authorities such as UEFA, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), and the Spanish Higher Sports Council (CSD), Los Blancos even approached CONCACAF and U.S. Soccer in their effort to prevent the plan.

Players such as Dani Carvajal, Dani Ceballos, and Thibaut Courtois also spoke out against the idea, voicing their concerns about the competition being distorted by the move.

In the end, the “Miami plan” ended up being cancelled.

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