There was a surprise when Real Madrid announced the team to face Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final tonight. The lineup released on the club's social media showed Arda Guler starting in midfield and Gonzalo Garcia named on the bench.
But that's not the case as Guler will start as a substitute while Gonzalo will continue to lead the line. This left fans puzzled as to why the Turk had initally been on the teamsheet.
Guler didn't start in Madrid's 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals on Thursday night. There was no expectation he'd come into Alonso's XI and the main focus was on Kylian Mbappe and whether he'd be fit enough to start.
Real Madrid's XI with Guler a mistake
It seems that Madrid's media team made a mistake when they released the lineup with Guler in it. That's according to The Athletic's Mario Cortegana who claims that the plan was always to start Gonzalo.
The starting line-up has always been with Gonzalo Garcia and without Arda Güler.
— Mario Cortegana (@MarioCortegana) January 11, 2026
The Turkish player's inclusion in the XI has been due to a mistake. @TheAthleticFC
Cortegana also claims that Guler's name in the XI was "a mistake." But this has fuelled talk that it was mind games from Alonso to try and confuse Barca boss Hansi Flick.
Gonzalo has started Madrid's last two games and scored a perfect hat-trick in a 5-1 win over Real Betis. He was less impressive in the derby but his profile could suit El Clasico especially if his side are on the counter.
Kylian Mbappe and Antonio Rudiger named on the bench
Mbappe flew to Saudi Arabia after recovering from a knee sprain and speculation grew over the French forward possibly starting. But he has had to settle for a place on the bench with Alonso putting his faith in Gonzalo.
Antonio Rudiger played the Madrid derby but has been nursing an injury and isn't fit enough to start El Clasico. The German defender has been playing through the pain barrier and seemingly couldn't recover fully in time for tonight's final.
📋✅ ¡Nuestro XI inicial!
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) January 11, 2026
🆚 @FCBarcelona_es
👉 @UnicajaBanco pic.twitter.com/ZWDYrS1wWg
That means Dean Huijsen partners with Aurelien Tchouameni with Raul Asencio at right-back, and the Spanish centre-back needs to impress. It's been a difficult start to his Bernabeu career since arriving from Bournemouth in the summer.
If Madrid win tonight it will be Alonso's first trophy win since replacing Carlo Ancelotti in the summer. He has already beaten Barca since taking charge of Los Blancos, overseeing a 2-1 win against the Catalans in October.