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- Tchouam茅ni has been one of the players who has pitched in defensively because of injuries to the team鈥檚 regular defenders
- 鈥淚鈥檝e thought about it but I don鈥檛 want to give away any hints, I still have some doubts,鈥� Ancelotti said Tuesday
MADRID: Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti still has doubts about how to set up his defense for the return match against Leipzig in the round of 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday.
Madrid will enter the game at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium defending a 1-0 lead from the first leg in Germany three weeks ago.
Ancelotti didn鈥檛 say whether he will improvise again with midfielder Aur茅lien Tchouam茅ni playing as a central defender or would promote Nacho Fern谩ndez to the position.
Tchouam茅ni has been one of the players who has pitched in defensively because of injuries to the team鈥檚 regular defenders.
鈥淚鈥檝e thought about it but I don鈥檛 want to give away any hints, I still have some doubts,鈥� Ancelotti said Tuesday. 鈥淲e played with Tchouam茅ni and (Antonio) R眉diger because Nacho hadn鈥檛 practiced, he had a small ailment. Now he is available and has the same opportunity to start as the others.鈥�
Madrid chose not to add any central defenders in the winter transfer window, with Ancelotti saying that the players he had were enough despite the many injuries affecting the club.
Nacho is a defender but isn鈥檛 a usual starter for Ancelotti. The coach also had to use right back Dani Carvajal as a central defender.
Madrid defender 脡der Milit茫o has been out since the season opener because of a serious knee injury and David Alaba tore his ACL in December. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois also has been out since before the season started with a knee ligament injury.
Leipzig鈥檚 attack is led by Lo茂s Openda, a Belgium international who has scored 21 goals 鈥� including four in the Champions League 鈥� this season.
Madrid are coming off a 2-2 draw at Valencia in the Spanish league. They have a seven-point lead over Girona in the competition.
鈥淭omorrow we have to show the best version of ourselves,鈥� Ancelotti said. 鈥淭he tie is not over yet. Talking about the season today is complicated. So far we have done very well but we still have a long way to go.鈥�
Madrid have advanced past the round of 16 the last three seasons, reaching at least the semifinals every time and winning the title in 2022.