Preseason continues for Real Madrid, and this time they travel to Germany for a special occasion. José Mourinho’s side will face Schalke 04 in a friendly that will serve as one of their final tests before the official start of the season.

The match will also be special for the German club. Schalke 04 are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of their stadium against one of Europe’s biggest clubs. They are also preparing for their return to the Bundesliga after earning promotion following three seasons in Germany’s second division.

Real Madrid Continue Fine-Tuning Mourinho’s Machine

Real Madrid enter the match after winning the Trofeo Teresa Herrera with a 1-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruña at Riazor thanks to a goal from Brahim Díaz.

Before that, Los Blancos drew 2-2 against Fiorentina and defeated Ferencvaros 2-1, results that have allowed Mourinho to begin drawing conclusions about his new-look team.

The Portuguese coach has increased the intensity of training sessions in recent days, and this match represents another opportunity to fine-tune both physical and tactical details.

There are also some major additions to the squad. Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Marc Cucurella are now back in Mourinho’s plans for this match after rejoining the group, although it remains to be seen how many minutes they could play.

Another name to watch will be Yan Diomandé, who has also been called up and could play his first minutes in a Real Madrid shirt.

Karius Meets Real Madrid Again

One of the biggest storylines will be in Schalke 04’s goal.

Loris Karius could once again face Real Madrid, a club that inevitably holds a significant place in his career.

The German goalkeeper was between the posts for Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final, when two of his mistakes proved decisive in Real Madrid’s 3-1 victory in Kyiv.

Eight years later, Karius could meet Madrid again, this time wearing a Schalke shirt.

The German side also have experienced players such as Robin Gosens and Edin Džeko, making this an interesting test for the Real Madrid defense.

Schalke 04 Predicted Lineup

Schalke 04 (3-4-2-1): Karius; Katić, Becker, Wöber; Sylla, Schallenberg, El-Faouzi, Gosens; Karaman, Adamu; Džeko.

Head Coach: Miron Muslić.

Real Madrid Predicted Lineup

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Lunin; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Rüdiger, Huijsen, Álvaro Carreras; Camavinga, Bernardo Silva; Vinícius Jr., Arda Güler, Brahim Díaz; Endrick.

Head Coach: José Mourinho.

The friendly will provide another opportunity to measure the progress of Mourinho’s new Real Madrid, while it could also give some recently returned players their first minutes of preseason.

Schalke 04 are celebrating a special night at home.

Real Madrid continue preparing for a season in which expectations will once again be extremely high.

And Mourinho continues searching for the definitive version of his team before the matches that really count begin.

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