Mbappe Doubtful, but Real Madrid Remain Favourites for Intercontinental Cup Final

Real Madrid arrived in Doha shortly after midnight local time on Tuesday, preparing for the Intercontinental Cup final on Wednesday.

Carlo Ancelotti's men will kick off as clear favorites in Lusail Stadium against the Mexican side Pachuca, who had to fight their way through a quarterfinal against Brazil's Botafogo, before winning 6-5 from Egypt's Al Ahly in penalties after 120 minutes ended goalless.

The big question mark over Real Madrid is if Kylian Mbappe will play on Wednesday night. He sustained a hamstring injury last week against Atalanta in the Champions League, forcing him to miss this past weekend's 3-3 draw away at Rayo Vallecano.

The injury was a setback for Mbappe, who seemed to be coming into form after struggling to settle in the first few months at Real Madrid. He had scored Madrid's opener and looked dangerous before being forced off the pitch. Despite the doubts about Mbappe, he has, however, scored 12 goals in all competitions since arriving.

There is little doubt that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez would like to showcase his star signing in Doha, but it seems more likely he will start on the bench, with Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham leading the Madrid attack.

The draw away to Rayo, for Real Madrid, has highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of its game, where two goals in a five-minute spell cancelled out Rayo's 2-0 lead to show its power in attack.

However, the fact that two of Rayo's goals came from free headers and the last goal arrived when Izi Palazon was allowed to arrive unmarked to prod past Thibaut Courtois also showed that Madrid need to tighten up in defense.

It also highlights how much they miss Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao, the latter out for the season with a knee injury and Ferland Mendy who has also been ruled out due to a muscle issue.

However, Eduardo Camavinga is fit, and with Luka Modric giving the inspiration, Fede Valverde gives the drive for Madrid as it goes for its second title in the campaign.