Real Madrid will renew arguably the greatest rivalry of the modern Champions League on Tuesday night when they take on Bayern Munich, who are widely seen as the favorites to win the competition this year. That is, of course, until you factor in that Real can never be counted out of this competition, especially after the way they tore apart their newest Champions League rivals, Manchester City, in the Round of 16.
And Real Madrid are only going to get significantly stronger by the time they face Bayern Munich. Their best center back, Eder Militao, is back from injury to shore up the biggest weakness in their starting lineup, according to manager Alvaro Arbeloa.
The Spanish coach informed reporters of Militao's return this weekend for the Mallorca game at the pre match press conference, via the Madrid Zone, "Militão? He is back and this will be the first time he's available since I took over. He has a lot of quality, talent and he will help us a lot. He will make a difference."
Eder Militao is back
You can just hear the excitement in Alvaro Arbeloa's voice. As a former Real Madrid defender, Arbeloa knows the quality Eder Militao has, and he has seen how the Brazilian international has been the bedrock of the team's defense since the departure of Sergio Ramos, stepping in as the new face of the position.
Militao's recoveries are world class, and he can create chances with his passing for the likes of Vinicius Junior, too. Arbeloa has yet to sink his teeth in and work with his best defender, and having Militao back against the world's finest striker, Ballon d'Or frontrunner Harry Kane, is going to be a huge boost.
There are shades of the 2023/24 Champions League winning season when Militao came back from a big injury to help the team out. All Arbeloa can do is hope Militao is at a full 100 percent for this first leg against Bayern and that the Brazilian superstar can remain healthy for the remainder of the 2025/26 campaign.
Dean Huijsen has been a decent signing and Antonio Rudiger has stepped up positively again in recent weeks, but there is no mistaking the fact that Militao is by far the best and more reliable defender on Real Madrid. He has been missed badly, and Arbeloa is not hiding how much of a boost he brings to this team.