Arsenal and Real Madrid will both have at least five players missing from their Champions League quarter-final first leg. The Gunners head into the huge European clash after a disappointing draw away at Everton but it was also a weekend to forget for Los Blancos.
Despite dominating their La Liga clash with Valencia at the Bernabeu, a last-gasp strike from substitute Hugo Duro saw Madrid lose 2-1. Carlo Ancelotti also lost Andriy Lunin in the lead up to that game which saw academy goalkeeper Fran Gonzalez start in between the sticks.
Thibaut Courtois has also been on the sidelines for the last few weeks but is expected to be available and that was confirmed by him being named in Madrid's travelling squad on Monday. Lunin however, was missing with Dani Ceballos also not included after only just returning to training.
While Arsenal are not going to confirm their squad until later this evening, no surprise omissions appear on the cards. "Yeah, it looks like it," Mikel Arteta admitted when asked if everyone is available.
"We have another training session this [Monday] afternoon, but Ben [White] finished the game. We had to sub him at half-time because he hasn't played much football, but he was fine after the game.
"And with the rest, they all went through the game and they were able to do some bits yesterday and were ready to train today."
Bukayo Saka, having only just returned from injury, has not been included in an Arsenal starting XI since December but after 26 minutes on his return against Fulham followed by 45 minutes in this past weekend's clash with Everton, he is expected to be named from the off.
"He's in a much better place," Arteta said when asked if he is in a position to start. "Gradually we have built his minutes in the last six or seven days. He's coped with that really well and he's in a good place to be able to be used."
Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori are two players that picked up fresh issues around the time of Saka's return. The latter is currently recovering from a minor knee issue suffered on international duty while Gabriel has been ruled out for the season and is set to undergo hamstring surgery.
As for Madrid, Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal remain unavailable from long-term issues suffered earlier in the season. Ferland Mendy is another that has been injured for the last few weeks and therefore was not named in the squad.
So many defenders being out has seen Raul Asencio called upon but he was absent for Saturday's game against Villareal with that decision explained by Ancelotti. "The other day we gave Asencio a rest because he was exhausted," he said at a press conference.
Aurelien Tchouameni is one player capable of filling in at centre-back but having picked up three yellow cards in the Champions League so far, he is suspended.
Eduardo Camavinga, Endrick, Luka Modric, Antonio Rudiger, Lucas Vasquez and Vinicius Jr will be suspended for the second leg if booked at Emirates Stadium, according to UEFA's official website. Despite those risks, Ancelotti has made it clear they will still feature.
"Nothing changes. If they can't play in Madrid, we have substitutes. Like with Tchouameni, who can't play tomorrow," he said.
Joining Ancelotti for his pre-match press duties was Courtois and the experienced Belgian made it clear he is ready to go. "[I'm] at 100 per cent," he said when asked about his recent injury. "We'll have to ask the coach if I'll start, but I'm ready. I've been in the gym and on the pitch these days. I'm ready to play."
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