Real Madrid vs Leganés Preview: Mourinho’s Second Spell Begins

Real Madrid vs Leganés: Preview, Lineups and Stars to Watch

Real Madrid begin their 2026-27 preparations on Tuesday, hosting Leganés at Valdebebas in a behind-closed-doors friendly that also marks José Mourinho’s first match back in charge of the club for his second spell. With most of the first-team squad still unavailable following their World Cup commitments, this is as much about seeing what Mourinho makes of Real Madrid’s academy talent as it is about the result itself.

The Situation

Real Madrid arrive off the back of a trophyless 2025-26 campaign that prompted a significant summer of change — a new manager in Mourinho, a restructured medical staff following an injury-plagued season, and a squad still waiting on several of its biggest names to return from international duty. Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham are among those unavailable, leaving Mourinho to build his first lineup largely around Real Madrid Castilla players and the fringe first-teamers who didn’t feature deep into the World Cup.Elliot Anderson Completes Move to Manchester City From Nottingham Forest

Leganés, by contrast, arrive with a considerable head start on match fitness. This is already their fifth preseason test of the summer, following matches against Levante, Albacete, and two fixtures during a training camp in Portugal against Nacional de Madeira and Penafiel. Rubén Albés’ side drew with Albacete and Nacional before a 2-1 defeat to Levante, giving them a real rhythm advantage over their star-studded but rotation-heavy opponents.

Expected Lineups

With so many regulars still absent, expect Mourinho to lean heavily on Real Madrid’s academy production line. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Álvaro Carreras, Franco Mastantuono and Gonzalo García are all reported to be in line for extended minutes as the club looks to keep them sharp physically ahead of the new season. García in particular arrives with real credibility after scoring six La Liga goals last season, and he’s expected to spearhead the attack in what amounts to an early audition for a bigger role once the season gets fully underway.

Leganés should be closer to full strength given their extensive preseason schedule already completed, giving Albés a clearer picture of his best available XI heading into this test against vastly superior opposition on paper.

Head-to-Head

Real Madrid’s recent record against Leganés is emphatic: four wins from the last five meetings, with the solitary blemish a draw. Leganés’ only real historical success against Real Madrid in recent memory came in a Copa del Rey tie back in 2017-18, when they eliminated Los Blancos over two legs — a result that remains a distant outlier against an otherwise one-sided recent history.

Stars to Watch

Gonzalo García is the name Real Madrid fans will be most eager to see given real minutes, with his six-goal La Liga return last season making him one of the more credible academy graduates to push for regular involvement. Franco Mastantuono, one of Real Madrid’s marquee summer arrivals, offers another reason to watch closely — his first appearance in Real Madrid colors, even in this reduced context, will draw plenty of attention. Trent Alexander-Arnold, already a season into his own Real Madrid career, gives the side a note of senior experience amid an otherwise youth-heavy lineup.

For Leganés, this match offers a chance for fringe first-teamers to make an impression against elite opposition, even in a fixture where the result itself is unlikely to go their way.

The Bottom Line

Even with a squad missing most of its household names, Real Madrid’s remaining quality should be enough to see off a Leganés side several divisions below them on paper, even accounting for the visitors’ superior match sharpness heading in. The real intrigue lies less in the scoreline and more in what Mourinho’s first look at his club’s next generation of talent reveals about how he plans to shape the squad once his full complement of stars returns from international duty.

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