Schalke 04 Starting XI: Wellenreuther; Uchida, Höwedes, Matip, Nastasic, Aogo, Neustädter, Höger, Boateng, Choupo-Moting y Huntelaar.
Real Madrid Starting XI: Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo; Lucas Silva, Kroos, Isco; Bale, Ronaldo, Benzema.
Carlo Ancelotti decides to keep it simple. Real Madrid are looking forward to put an end to the slump that started after conquering the FIFA Club World Cup.
His team will play without Sergio Ramos, James Rodríguez, Luka Modric, Fàbio Coentrao and Sami Khedira, all of them injured, but Ancelotti's starting XI should be good enough to create Schalke some trouble. It will be extremely important for his team to have Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema back in good form. After all, those three players completely dismantled Schalke's defensive line during last year's 1-6 win at the Veltins Arena.
Ancelotti has chosen Lucas Silva ahead of Illarramendi for this match, surprisingly. Whether this means something for the future or not remains to be seen.