Real Madrid will face Barcelona in the third and final Clasico of the 2024/25 season, and in their latest predicted starting lineup, Relevo, via the Madrid Zone, have Arda Guler listed in the starting lineup as a right-sided midfielder.
Per Relevo, Rodrygo Goes will, as many fans expect, be sacrificed by Carlo Ancelotti for El Clasico. This will both ensure that Real Madrid have the midfield stability they need against the Barcelona juggernaut, while it will also take out an underperforming player who reportedly doesn't even want to be there and was woeful in the most recent meeting in the Copa del Rey Final.
Instead, Kylian Mbappe will play up top with Vinicius Junior as the left winger and Jude Bellingham as an attacking midfielder. The base of the midfield will include Dani Ceballos and Fede Valverde together, as Aurelien Tchouameni will have to play center back without Antonio Rudiger available.
That leaves Arda Guler as the right-sided wide midfielder in the Relevo system, which is a departure from his best position in recent games.
Carlo Ancelotti has turned Guler into a deep-lying playmaker, and the Turkish international has been a game-changer in this position, scoring decisive goals in victories over Getafe and Celta Vigo while shining against Barcelona, too.
Arda Guler can be a deeper inverted playmaker
Taking Guler out of the base of the midfield is a huge risk, given how much he has influenced matches as a passer from this position. I wouldn't call him Andrea Pirlo this yet, but it isn't totally unreasonable to draw parallels to one of Carlo's greatest achievements from early in his career as the manager of AC Milan.
I take a more flexible reading of Relevo's proposed formation. To me, Vinicius Jr drives higher up the pitch to play alongside Mbappe, albeit in a wider capacity with Ceballos covering for him in the half-space.
Then, Bellingham roves like a secondary striker and Guler drops deep off the right side, functioning as a wide inverted playmaker who is a little deeper than that same role Isco used to play on the left for Real Madrid about eight years ago or so.
Guler is the real X-Factor for Real Madrid on Sunday. In the last Clasico, he created a goal from nothing via a corner, and had his teammates been more alerted earlier in the game, that would have actually been his second assist of the night from a set piece.
Lately, Guler has been creating goals out of thin air both with his long shots and with his deep through balls. Playing him a little wider can get Guler out of the muck of the midfield against players like Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, who just showed, even in defeat, that they are of a different caliber to the rest.
Guler can be more shielded from the wars of El Clasico and potentially benefit from the inexperience of Gerard Martin, who is still the projected Barcelona starter at left back and isn't as robust of a defensive option as Alejandro Balde.
All Guler needs is one opening to win the game for Real Madrid. The slightest chance from range as he rushes on to latch onto a backpass in the box from Bellingham or Mbappe, a cut pass across the middle of the pitch from the right side to a wide open Vinicius or Mbappe, or a knifed pass through a sliver of a hole in the heart of the Barca defense could all be winning daggers for the Merengues.
Guler is the great equalizer for Real Madrid this Sunday in a must-win matchup with LaLiga very much on the line.