Real Madrid

Brahim Díaz regains his place

Arbeloa turns to Brahim Díaz and Fran García in Vigo as Madrid battle injuries, suspensions and a four-point gap behind Barcelona.

Howard Smith/ISI Photos

José Félix Díaz

Update: Mar 6th, 2026 06:49 EST

Real Madrid will be playing for a huge part of their season tonight when they face Celta Vigo at Balaídos. With injuries piling up, manager Álvaro Arbeloa has been forced into some big decisions.

The most important, according to information obtained by this newspaper, is that Brahim Díaz and Fran García will both start the game.

The biggest surprise is Brahim’s inclusion in the starting lineup. The Moroccan international has barely featured under Arbeloa since returning from an impressive Africa Cup of Nations campaign. Fran García, meanwhile, steps in at left back for the suspended Carreras.

Midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who has been dealing with a tooth infection that prevented him from training normally this week and ruled him out of the last game against Getafe, will begin the match on the bench.

Brahim gets his opportunity

For Brahim, tonight represents a major opportunity to reestablish himself in Arbeloa’s new project at Real Madrid.

Interestingly, the coach has mostly used him in midfield roles, deploying him as an interior player rather than in attack. Those appearances largely came in limited minutes off the bench.

This time, however, the change comes in the forward line. Gonzalo drops out of the starting lineup, with the Brahim set to partner Vinícius Júnior up front as Madrid stick with the 4-4-2 formation Arbeloa has favored in recent matches.

Fran García returns to the lineup

The other notable decision is Fran García’s inclusion at left back.

There had been speculation that Ferland Mendy could return to the starting lineup, but Arbeloa has opted for the academy product instead.

Fran García’s last start came in Real Madrid’s shocking Copa del Rey defeat to Albacete. In that game, Arbeloa substituted him at halftime, replacing him with Camavinga in the second half.

A dangerous trip to Vigo

Real Madrid traveled to Vigo this morning ahead of their clash with Claudio Giráldez’s Celta side, one of the most in-form teams in LaLiga.

Celta already defeated Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu during the final stretch of Xabi Alonso’s tenure as head coach, and they will be confident of causing problems again.

Madrid currently sit four points behind Barcelona and have lost their last two LaLiga matches against Osasuna and Getafe. Another slip could prove costly in the title race.

Real Madrid’s injury crisis: Mbappé, Bellingham, Rodrygo...

The biggest challenge facing Arbeloa is the club’s growing injury list.

In addition to suspended players Carreras, Mastantuono and Huijsen, Madrid are without several key stars. Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, Éder Militão, David Alaba, Rodrygo and Dani Ceballos are all unavailable.

Two more players are carrying knocks. Raúl Asencio is still recovering from a neck sprain suffered against Benfica, while Camavinga has only been able to complete two full training sessions this week due to his infection.

Because of those issues, Thiago Pitarch is expected to start on the left side of midfield, with Arda Güler and Aurélien Tchouaméni in central roles and Federico Valverde on the right.