Trent Alexander-Arnold finally 'ready' to start for Real Madrid as Xabi Alonso offers update on summer signing

Real Madrid have the chance to go eight points clear of rivals Barcelona on Sunday, the defending champions not in action until later on Sunday night when they face Celta Vigo. Los Blancos have made a flying start to life under Xabi Alonso winning 10 of 11 league matches, including their El Clasico triumph last month.

Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham saw Real Madrid claim a 2-1 win over Barcelona in a heated encounter at the Bernabeu. Alexander-Arnold was fit enough for the bench in the narrow victory over the Blaugrana and only recently returned to action in the Champions League in midweek.

The right-back played the final knockings of the game at Anfield as Alexander-Arnold made a late cameo on his former stomping ground. The former Liverpool man departed the Reds under a cloud, and was resoundingly booed by the home support when he went to warm up and once he replaced Arda Guler in the 82nd minute.

And Alonso has confirmed that Alexander-Arnold is fit to feature from the off against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday afternoon. Were the Spaniard to use the summer signing from the outset, it would mark Alexander-Arnold's third league start of the season and his first since suffering a hamstring injury against Marseille in September.

Alexander-Arnold was forced off after just five minutes in the eventual 2-1 win over the French giants, with Dani Carvajal - who is now injured - and Federico Valverde both deputising at right-back in the former's absence.

And when asked whether the ex-Reds man is ready to start on Sunday, Alonso replied: "Yes, [Trent] is ready, he's been training for a few weeks.

"Tomorrow you'll know if he starts or not. In the circumstances, [Valverde] has played there and done well. He's always ready to help the team. It's an option we have."

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Real Madrid's defeat to Liverpool in midweek marked their third high-profile loss under Alonso, who succeeded Carlo Ancelotti in the capital over the summer. The Spanish giants were thumped 4-0 by PSG at the Club World Cup earlier this year, while their sole league defeat was a 5-2 mauling at rivals Atletico.

Alexis Mac Allister's winning goal on the hour mark proved to be the difference between the two sides at Anfield. And when asked about the stats that showed Real Madrid covered less ground than Liverpool on Merseyside, Alonso replied: "You have to put it in context. We've had all kinds of games. You have to look at how the game went; you can't make a definitive judgement on just one game. We've analysed the game, we've talked about it, and now it's about Vallecas.

"We want to be consistent in our performance. But we know not every game is the same. I have no complaints about my players' attitude."

Alonso also took the chance in his pre-Rayo Vallecano press conference to respond to comments made by former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale on Tuesday night. Bale, working as a pundit, said that being Real Madrid coach involves "managing egos rather than just tactics".

The 43-year-old said of Bale's comments: "It's a dressing room with great players. We've started a new project, I'm very happy, and we're making progress."

Real Madrid will hope to claim all the spoils at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday as they look to take another step towards a 37th La Liga title. That'll prove to be easier said than done, however.

The Spanish giants have failed to win their last three games at Rayo, and have drawn their last two trips across the capital. Valverde, Bellingham and Rodrygo all scored in this fixture last season, an entertaining 3-3 draw last December.

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