Real Madrid will face Stuttgart in their first match of the 2024/25 Champions League campaign as the defending champions, having beaten another historic Bundesliga side in Dortmund in the Final.
Stuttgart are underdogs through and through and don’t have superstar striker Serhou Guirassy, who joined Dortmund this sumner, but as their 3-1 win over Gladbach shows, they still have the firepower to threaten anyone. After all, they finished higher than Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga last season.
Real Madrid are coming off another big 2-0 win in LaLiga, this one over Real Sociedad, with Luka Modric putting in a vintage display and Arda Guler shining in his debut as a regular center midfielder.
According to a report from COPE, with Aurelien Tchouameni set to move from midfield to center back again to replace an injured Eder Militao, the main doubt in teh Real Madrid starting lineup is whether to start Modric or Guler.
While Guler can bring something more dynamic with his eye for spectacular skill moves and athleticism, Modric is still one of the kings of the Champions League and someone you can’t deny in big games.
Carlo Ancelotti is giving Guler more trust, but he tends to defer to Modric and the vets in the Champions League, even if Stuttgart aren’t a traditional power like Liverpool or Bayern Munich.
Most fans will want the opportunity in the Champions League for Arda, but the young Turkish international should still get some minutes – hopefully a solid 30 – even if Modric ends up being preferred by Carletto.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other major outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.
