Bale, Benzema and Vinicius to start against Manchester United

Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui has been training using a 4-2-3-1 formation with Bale, Ceballos, Vinicius and Karim Benzema playing upfront and that’s the lineup Los Blancos are expected to use when they take on Manchester United next Tuesday.

Keep in mind that players like Isco, Modric, Kroos or Casemiro will not be available for this game, so it makes sense for Lopetegui to deploy Ceballos and Vinicius even though they are young and lack the experience to have such an important role when the season begins.

Either way, Ceballos is expected to be a relevant player this year. Mateo Kovacic still wants to leave the club as he seeks a role as a starter elsewhere and that leaves one spot for Ceballos as the first player off the bench whenever Modric or Kroos aren’t available. It will be interesting for Lopetegui to keep an eye on the performances from his youngsters during the first games of the International Champions Cup.