Liverpool host Real Madrid soon after their return from the international break, and Spanish reports have suggested Carlo Ancelotti fears what Arne Slot‘s side can do if his club doesn’t make changes.
The Reds currently sit at the top of both the Premier League and Champions League tables having only faltered twice in their 17 games under Slot so far.
Madrid, meanwhile, are six points behind leaders Barcelona in La Liga and sit 18th in Europe’s premier competition at the halfway stage, they could also be without seven senior players for their trip to Anfield.
Ancelotti finds himself under increasing pressure, as defeat to Liverpool on November 27 would keep them on six points and precariously close to the immediate knock-out zone.
According to Spanish outlet Relevo, Ancelotti is eager to use the international break to overhaul his team’s fitness program to inject more intensity into his squad.
“Either we raise our level or Liverpool sweep us away,” is what the report claims Ancelotti has been saying around the training ground.
Madrid’s “aim is to lay the theoretical and practical foundations” for the changes they want to see during the break so they can turn the corner when the full squad is back together.
From the outside looking in, it appears a team of individual stars who cannot work harmoniously together. Something we would previously have called an anti-Jurgen Klopp side.
The report notes that Madrid ran 10 kilometres less than Barcelona in their 4-0 defeat last month, 12km less in their defeat to Lille and 5km less in their most recent Champions League defeat to Milan.
So if Ancelotti has been raising the alarm, you can understand why, as Liverpool will outwork them at Anfield and the crowd will pounce on it.
While Liverpool will hope to have Alisson and Trent Alexander-Arnold back for the fixture, Madrid will be without Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, David Alaba, Lucas Vazquez, Aurelien Tchouameni, Rodrygo and possibly Thibaut Courtois.
