Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti is expecting to have Thibaut Courtois available for Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Courtois has missed Real Madrid’s last three matches, including Saturday’s La Liga clash against Valencia, with the muscular problem that he suffered while on international duty with Belgium.
Fran Gonzalez made his Los Blancos debut against Valencia, featuring between the sticks due to a minor calf problem for Andriy Lunin, who was named on the bench at Bernabeu.
However, Ancelotti has eased the concerns surrounding both Courtois and Lunin ahead of the trip to Arsenal, with the club’s number one and number two goalkeepers both expected to be available for selection.
“Courtois trained today and has had good feelings, tomorrow he will be with us. We have not risked with Lunin because of this situation of Courtois. I think that by Tuesday we have the option that we can both recover,” Ancelotti told reporters.
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Courtois expected to be fit for Real Madrid’s clash with Arsenal
Real Madrid’s La Liga title hopes suffered a huge setback on Saturday, with the reigning champions losing 2-1 at home to Valencia, with Hugo Duro netting the winner in the final exchanges at Bernabeu.
Los Blancos remain second in the La Liga table, three points behind the leaders Barcelona, who will play their game in hand against Real Betis on Saturday night.
“A problem with football or a physical problem? Neither a football problem nor a physical problem. I think we played the game, we created a lot of chances. We were very close to scoring goals,” Ancelotti added during his post-match press conference.
“Maybe we were a little bit less effective in recovering the ball… we achieved very little. It’s true that at this moment, to score a goal against us, the opposing teams don’t need to work very hard.”
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Ancelotti: ‘We deserved to beat Valencia’
Ancelotti has insisted that his side “deserved to win” against Valencia, but the Italian has already switched his attention to next week’s blockbuster European contest with Arsenal.
“We deserved to win. Without a doubt. Valencia played a fantastic game, but Madrid deserved to win the game, without any doubt. Are there things that can be improved? Obviously, yes,” he said.
“The game against Arsenal is going to be different, because Arsenal are going to attack more and we have to be more solid at the back.”
Real Madrid are also expecting to recover Ferland Mendy and Dani Ceballos for the contest at the Emirates Stadium, but Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao remain on the sidelines for the Spanish and European champions.
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