Lunin gives a consultation in Lille

Andriy Lunin was crucial in Real Madrid's path to lifting the Fifteenth last season. His formidable performances away from Santiago Bernabéu in the Champions League round of 16, when he stopped Leipzig's shooting spree with nine saves, and in the quarterfinals, where he resisted Manchester City's siege to end up defeating the 'skyblues' by stopping Bernardo Silva's and Mateo Kovacic's shots in the penalty shootout that decided a titanic duel, allowed Los Blancos to reach the final at Wembley. There, while Thibaut Courtois once again took the spotlight, the Ukrainian showed signs of discontent seeing how even an outstanding season did not allow him to step out of his teammate's long shadow. The injury suffered by the Belgian in the Metropolitano derby will bring him back on stage this Wednesday.

The visit that Real Madrid will pay to Lille, a bustling university city near the Belgian border, presents itself as a retake for Lunin, who has returned to square one. Since Courtois overcame two knee injuries that kept him off the pitch for almost all of last season, the Slav has only played two official matches with Los Blancos: the second leg of the Champions League semifinals against Bayern Munich and a match against Villarreal with La Liga already secured in which he conceded four goals from Alexander Sorloth. He then went with his national team to the European Championship, where a poor performance in Ukraine's opener against Romania ended his journey in a tournament that could have served as a showcase.

After putting his affairs in Jorge Mendes' hands, receiving interest from several Premier League teams, and ignoring members of his entourage who advised him to start a new professional project, Lunin chose to extend his contract with Real Madrid until June 30, 2030. A long-term commitment that demonstrates both the club's confidence in a still young goalkeeper, 25 years old, and the faith that the Slav holds in his chances of breaking through in a not-too-distant future despite the gigantic figure he competes with to defend Real Madrid's goal. The duel with Lille offers him an opportunity to redeem himself.

Lunin's presence under the goalposts is a certainty within an eleven that holds several doubts. Ancelotti surprisingly enlisted Mbappé, who is excited about visiting his homeland for the first time wearing Real Madrid's jersey and will have the chance to greet his brother Ethan, whose departure from PSG to Lille this summer was a collateral effect of Kylian's move to Chamartín. However, with a low-caliber opponent ahead, Villarreal looming on the immediate horizon, and a recent hamstring issue, the '9's presence on the pitch is expected to be limited at best.

Camavinga is expected instead and will have the chance to make his season debut. Ancelotti considered giving him playtime on Sunday at Metropolitano, but events altered those plans. At Pierre-Mauroy Stadium, he will be called up either from the start or later in the game. Upfront, Rodrygo and Vinicius have secured spots, with uncertainty hovering over whether Carletto will revert to 4-3-3, which would also accommodate Endrick or maintain the 4-4-2 formation used against Atlético.

On the other side of the field will be Lille, another unprecedented opponent in Real Madrid's history but one that more than a decade ago served as a springboard for Eden Hazard. The Belgian fell out of favor upon arriving at Santiago Bernabéu after receiving a tackle from his compatriot Thomas Meunier when he was playing for PSG. After stints at Borussia Dortmund and Trabzonspor, Meunier joined Lille this summer to strengthen a team competing in its eighth Champions League campaign but has only advanced past the group stage twice.

The team led by Bruno Génésio did not have an auspicious start in the new league format that now structures Europe's top competition, as they fell 2-0 to Sporting Portugal. This result reduces their margin for error against Real Madrid, who are currently fifth in Ligue 1 after winning away at modest Le Havre with a hat-trick from Jonathan David. The Canadian striker, who scored 26 goals in each of the last two seasons, is Lille's main threat but still presents as a favorable opponent for Real Madrid to secure another three points like they did on matchday one against Stuttgart.

Lille: Chevalier, Santos, Meunier, Diakité, Alexsandro, Bakker, Zhegrova, André, Cabella, Sahraoui and David.

Real Madrid: Lunin, Carvajal, Rüdiger, Militao, Mendy, Valverde, Tchouaméni, Modric, Bellingham, Rodrygo and Vinicius.

Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy).

Time: 21:00 h.

Stadium: Pierre-Mauroy.

TV: Movistar Liga de Campeones.