Mourinho confirms Real Madrid rotation: four names set for Mestalla

Real Madrid C.F.

Jose Mourinho has already settled part of Real Madrid's starting XI for the trip to Mestalla. After the win against AEK Athens, the Portuguese coach confirmed that Dean Huijsen, Ibrahima Konate, Aurelien Tchouameni and Arda Guler will be in the starting line-up against Valencia.

The manager explained that the team will face another round of changes to manage workloads during a demanding stretch of the calendar. As he detailed, the plan is to make several alterations from the last match, in a workload management approach shaped by the run of fixtures and the travel involved.

Mourinho also reminded reporters that he had already made five changes compared with the previous game and highlighted how difficult it is to compete away from home with barely two days between matches. In that context, some of the decisions taken during the game in Athens were linked to the next league fixture.

Among those measures, the coach tied the substitution of Bernardo Silva and the continued presence of Eduardo Camavinga to the planning for Mestalla, where Tchouameni is expected to return to the starting XI.

Fantasy angle

For Fantasy managers, the information is especially relevant: Huijsen, Konate, Tchouameni and Arda Guler have confirmed starts for the matchday. By contrast, the rest of the XI remains subject to the rotations Mourinho may make, so caution is advised with players who logged minutes in the Champions League.