Jose Mourinho’s big selection dilemma ahead of Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad revealed

Jose Mourinho’s big selection dilemma ahead of Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad revealed Jose Mourinho’s first official starting lineup back at Real Madrid had some surprises at the weekend, especially in midfield. Aurelien Tchouameni was absent on the night, prompting Mourinho to deploy an interesting midfield pivot with Federico Valverde and Bernardo Silva. Jude Bellingham naturally started as the attacking midfielder, and the manager opted to deploy Arda Guler as well in place of a right-winger. Ultimately, the extra-man in midfield paid off and helped Real Madrid create chances against Espanyol, many of which came from the feet of Guler himself. A dilemma for tonight As confirmed by AS in a recent update, the Real Madrid manager is now in a dilemma ahead of the team’s match day 1 clash scheduled for later today. Guler shone against Espanyol. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) Facing off against Real Sociedad, he is conflicted on whether to retain the extra man in midfield or drop the advantage for a natural right-winger. Guler or Diomande – that is the question. The two players are competing for a starting spot tonight, both for a place on the right-wing on paper. While Diomande will stick wide as a traditional winger, however, the Turkish star will drop more centrally into a creative role. Both players will undoubtedly have minutes, but it remains to be seen who starts and who comes on as a substitute. Price tag matters Under usual circumstances, it would be a no-brainer for Guler to continue starting after the performance he dropped in the previous game. Will the record signing start? (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) The issue, however, is that he is not competing for a spot with any other player but the club’s record signing. Yan Diomande became Real Madrid’s costliest arrival when he signed for the club earlier this summer, and with that price tag comes a natural requirement to start. His cameo off the bench at the weekend, however, was anything but promising and it will thus be interesting to see how Mourinho tackles the situation. Will the manager go for the bigger name and more lavish signing under pressure to field him? Or will he hand minutes to a seasoned player who dropped a superior performance just days ago? A big decision awaits.