Real Madrid go into tomorrow's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Bayern Munich with six key players on two UCL yellow cards. One more booking for any of them and they miss the second leg in Munich on April 14.
The players at risk are Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Aurelien Tchouameni, Jude Bellingham, Dean Huijsen and Alvaro Carreras. All six have picked up two yellow cards in this season's UCL. A third tomorrow triggers an automatic one-match suspension under UEFA rules.
Mbappe picked up his second booking in the second leg against Manchester City in the round of 16. Vinicius and Tchouameni are expected to start. Bellingham is unlikely to start due to lack of match fitness after his hamstring injury, despite being available. Huijsen and Carreras are key defensive starters.
Losing Mbappe or Vinicius for the away leg at the Allianz Arena would be a serious blow. Both are Madrid's primary attacking threats and the second leg against Bayern, the best team in Europe this season is the hardest fixture remaining. Yellow card tallies reset from the semi-finals onwards, so if Madrid can get through this round clean, the slate is wiped.
On top of the UCL concern, Franco Mastantuono is already suspended for next Friday's La Liga clash against Girona after collecting his fifth league yellow card as a substitute at Mallorca on Saturday.
