Real Madrid's squad is stretched for Saturday's La Liga clash against Valencia, with head coach Carlo Ancelotti unavailable to call upon the services of seven first-team players.

Los Blancos are without Antonio Rudiger through suspension, with the Germany international picking up a milestone yellow card in the contest with Rayo Vallecano last weekend.

Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao remain long-term absentees due to serious knee injuries, while Dani Ceballos is not yet fit to return from a muscular issue despite recently being back in training.

Aurelien Tchouameni is also out, potentially until the start of next year, due to the foot injury that he suffered during the clash with Barcelona at the end of last month.

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Kepa Arrizabalaga, meanwhile, suffered a thigh issue in the warm-up ahead of Wednesday's Champions League contest with Braga, and the Spain international will miss out here.

Andriy Lunin, who saved an early penalty against Braga, will therefore start between the sticks.

Arda Guler had seemingly been in line to make his debut for Real Madrid this weekend, but the Turkey international has suffered a fresh fitness setback and could now be missing for another month.

The absentees have opened the door for highly-rated midfielder Nico Paz to be included once more, while Fran Gonzalez and Edgar Pujol have also been handed rare call-ups for the first team.

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Jude Bellingham was not involved against Braga due to a shoulder problem that he suffered during the goalless draw with Rayo in the league last weekend.

However, the England international is in the squad for the clash with Valencia, and Ancelotti is expecting the team's leading goalscorer this season to start.

"The player says he is comfortable. He trained normally today. He is available. If nothing unusual happens in the last few hours, I think he will play," the Real Madrid head coach told reporters when questioned on Bellingham during his press conference on Friday afternoon.

Real Madrid are currently second in the La Liga table on 29 points, two points behind leaders Girona, who have had an extraordinary start to the campaign.

Real Madrid squad vs. Valencia:

Lunin, Pineiro, Fran; Carvajal, Alaba, Nacho, Vazquez, F Garcia, Mendy, Edgar; Bellingham, Kroos, Modric, Camavinga, Valverde, Paz; Vinicius, Rodrygo, Joselu, Brahim