#team-selection

#team-selection

We need to retrace the path we took against Inter, adding a few more adjustments. We're facing a strong opponent with a lot of quality, but we need to be careful not to repeat the mistake we made when we conceded against Inter. Milan have important, high-quality players, and they can rotate a lot in midfield and up front. Just like Inter, they can bring on players midway through the match and cause us problems.

Mbappe is reportedly facing up to three weeks on the sidelines with a problematic knee injury, leaving Madrid without their talisman for Thursday's Spanish Super Cup semi-final against Atletico Madrid. Alonso's side will first have to deal with Betis, aiming for a fourth straight league win to cut Barcelona's four-point lead at the top-flight summit. And the Madrid boss hopes his team can use their Club World Cup experience without Mbappe to find a solution once again.

It's too soon for Pedri and Olmo to play the full ninety minutes. There are many matches in the coming weeks and this is a very long season. Olmo needs time; there were options for him to come in, the same with Pedri. They'll be on the bench and might get some playing time, but there are many matches in the coming weeks, in the next month; it's a long road until the end of the season. Perhaps it's too soon for them to play 90 minutes.

Sunderland will move fifth in the Premier League if the Black Cats start 2026 by winning at home to Manchester City on Thursday. Regis Le Bris' side are unbeaten in their first nine league games of the season, with Arsenal the only other side yet to taste defeat in the 2025/26 top flight. Second-placed City are aiming to close the gap on leaders Arsenal to two points, having extended their winning run to eight matches in all competitions by beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 away on Sunday.

One of the benefits of having a healthy roster is that the coach has choices. How he uses that decision making power is another question. At the moment, Hansi Flick is evaluating his players one game at a time, and based on performances, choosing who gets the start. This has been possibly recently, because finally, most of the team is fit and available. The results are starting to roll in, and so far, meritocracy, as manifested through the eyes of the manager, is working.

When he's on the bench, it shows also we have a good team. In this position we have excellent players. What I can say, he's an absolute professional player. His attitude, mentality is great. In the beginning, he had to adapt a little bit, but now he's on his best level.

There were no answers to Chelsea's search for consistency here. Instead there was a late, potentially damaging defeat that leaves them staring down the barrel of a February playoff for the last 16, along with further suggestions they lack what it takes to face down a tough away assignment at this level. Enzo Maresca's side looked well set when Joao Pedro scored against the run of play after 25 minutes.

Frankie de Jong will miss Barcelona's clash with Alaves at Camp Nou on Saturday after being left out of the squad by Hansi Flick. The Dutchman had been expected to start the game but was a surprise omission seemingly at the last minute. Marc Bernal will take over in midfield and make his first start of the season. There's been no official word on why De Jong is missing today, but multiple outlets are reporting it's for "family reasons" and not due to injury.

Barcelona's clash with Chelsea in tomorrow's UEFA Champions League fixture is shaping up to be one of the most tactically complex matches for Hansi Flick. While the team enters the match with renewed confidence, a series of returning players has created several selection dilemmas across the pitch, forcing Flick to weigh up form, fitness and balance before naming his starting XI.