Real Madrid head to the Spotify Camp Nou on Sunday evening for a heavyweight showdown with old rivals Barcelona in the tenth round of the Spanish league.
The Royal club cannot afford to lose tonight's Clasico. Defeat would leave them nine points adrift of Barcelona.
José Mourinho must do without Vinícius Júnior through suspension. He also loses Rodrygo Goes, Raúl Asencio and Ferland Mendy to injury, despite the notable improvement in their conditions.
According to AS, Mourinho is weighing up one of the tactical solutions on his mind: deploying Valverde on the right in an advanced role rather than at full-back. The idea is to give Arda Güler and Tchouaméni a hand in midfield and to exploit his ability to spark quick attacks.
That would push Denzel Dumfries into the full-back slot behind the Uruguayan, lining up alongside Ibrahima Konaté and Dean Huijsen, with Cucurella completing the back four.
In midfield, Güler looks essential as the playmaker and would partner Tchouaméni, with the emphasis on physical strength. The pair have started together in this set-up just once before, a 4-1 win over Sevilla last week.
Further forward, Jude Bellingham would complete the attacking trio in a deeper role, feeding Kylian Mbappé and Yan Diomande, who is in a superb goalscoring spell.
Plenty of options wait on the bench. Éder Militão and Antonio Rüdiger offer defensive cover, Bernardo Silva brings ball control, while Brahim Díaz, Endrick and Espy can inject attacking spark when needed.
Real Madrid's expected line-up is as follows:
Goalkeeper: Lunin
Defence: Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konaté, Dean Huijsen, Marc Cucurella
Midfield: Arda Güler, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Fede Valverde
Attack: Jude Bellingham, Yan Diomande, Kylian Mbappé