Even though Real Madrid has qualified for the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, manager Carlo Ancelotti has said that he will not rotate the team when they travel to Union Berlin on Tuesday and their final group stage match.

Los Blancos currently top Group C, with Napoli Braga and Union Berlin following in that order. Real Madrid does not have anything but pride to play for in that fixture, but they would have the opportunity to try out players who have not had enough opportunities and some who are just returning from injury, one of them is goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

The goalkeeper was expected to play a part in Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw against Real Betis in La Liga the weekend, but it was Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin who was called on by Ancelotti who said that even though the players will be evaluated, there won’t be a need for rotation for Tuesday’s game in Germany.

“We need to evaluate how the players that played against Betis recover, then we will choose the best possible starting XI. If there are some tired players who don’t recover very well, they will rest, but we don’t think about a big rotation with a lot of players resting. We will rotate some players if we see any risk or if the players are tired. The ones who played and don’t have any fatigue will be no problem at all. Our main goal was to finish top of the group, so we want to put in a good performance and close out the group stage on a high.” Ancelotti said.

While Real Madrid has nothing to play for beyond pride in Germany, Union Berlin can secure at least a UEFA Europa League spot if they win and Napoli beats Braga.

Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw at Real Betis at the weekend gave Girona the opportunity to move to the top of the La Liga table after beating Barcelona 4-2 on Sunday.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu