Match Preview

Real Madrid prepares for their final preseason match against Milan at the Wörthersee Stadion in Austria on Sunday.

These two historic clubs last faced each other in a preseason friendly which ended 3-1 in Real Madrid’s favor prior to the start of the 2018-19 season. The two have gone head-to-head 15 times in the clubs’ history with a record of 6-6-3.

Real Madrid’s last preseason match ended in a 2-1 loss to Rangers while Milan’s last club friendly ended in a 0-0 loss in penalties to Valencia.

Injuries

Real Madrid will be without Marco Asensio, who is currently serving Olympics duty with Spain after their gold medal loss to Brazil. Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy are also likely unavailable as they are recovering from injuries. Karim Benzema returned to training this week so he could be involved while Eden Hazard has also returned after his injury stint.

Milan will be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ismael Bennacer who are both out injured. Franck Kessie will also be unavailable after serving Olympics duty with Cote d’Ivoire.

Potential XIs

Real Madrid

Lunin; Odriozola, Nacho, Militao, Marcelo; Ødegaard, Isco, Valverde; Vazquez, Vinicius, Benzema

This is Benzema’s first preseason match back with the squad so it will be interesting to see if Carlo Ancelotti features him in the starting lineup or if he gets some time off the bench. Hazard, if incorporated at all, will likely be handled cautiously after just returning to training with the team.

AC Milan

Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Romagnoli, Theo; Pobega, Tonali; Castillejo, Brahim, Krunic; Giroud

Prediction

Real Madrid—AC Milan 2-1

This is Real’s first preseason match at a neutral site this summer. There will likely be a younger starting squad featuring for Real Madrid on Sunday, which will impact how the flow of this match goes.

While wins, draws and losses do not matter until next weekend, it’s beneficial for Real Madrid to put forth a strong effort to prepare their players for the coming season. This is also a historic matchup that is always entertaining to watch whether its a friendly or in the Champions League.

This is the last time we see Real Madrid play this summer before they play their first match of the 2021-22 La Liga season against Alaves at the Mendizorroza on August 14.