Real Madrid hosts RB Leipzig in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 encounter at Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday with a 1-0 advantage from Germany a fortnight ago.

The game is Real Madrid’s first since their controversial 2-2 draw at Valencia at the weekend, which saw some poor refereeing decisions. While Carlo Ancelotti will hope that that incident is off the mind of his players, he himself claims to have doubts about whom to put in the starting lineup.

“I have some doubts about the eleven, and I’m not going to give clues. Tchouaméni and Rüdiger’s pairing was because Nacho had some discomfort. Now Nacho is fine and has possibilities (of starting). There is never peace of mind in a game like that in which you play so much. I always have the idea of not thinking about the referee before the game, and I would like to keep it after the game above all. I don’t know what’s better or worse. If they speak or the referees don’t speak. There are people more suitable than me to decide it,” Ancelotti said.

While Brahim Diaz’s 48th-minute strike secured the win for Los Blancos in the first leg, they may need to hold off Leipzig at the Spanish capital. Real Madrid has only managed to win one of the three games they’ve played since the first leg, a 1-0 victory over Sevilla, with games against Rayo Vallecano and Valencia ending in 1-1 and 2-2 stalemates, respectively.

This is RB Leipzig’s second visit to Santiago Bernabeu since the first in 2022, which ended 2-0 in favor of Real Madrid. Real Madrid hosting RB Leipzig is one of the two UEFA Champions League rounds of 16 second-leg fixtures meant for Wednesday as Manchester City also welcomes Copenhagen to Etihad Stadium.

Madrid refused to sign any central defenders in the winter transfer window because Ancelotti said that the players he had were enough despite the plethora of injuries affecting the club.

Although Nacho is a defender, he isn’t a usual starter for Ancelotti. The coach has also had to use Spanish right-back Dani Carvajal as a makeshift central defender.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu