Real Madrid start Tchouameni against Elche as Bellingham and Bernardo Silva named on bench

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has named his side for Tuesday evening’s La Liga meeting with Elche at the Manuel Martinez Valero stadium, with Aurelien Tchouameni making his first start of the season.

Tchouameni has been sidelined for an extended period because of injury, but returns to the starting line-up as Real Madrid look to strengthen their position near the top of the table.

Mourinho has selected an attacking quartet of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Yan Diomande and Arda Guler. However, the team news also contains a major surprise, with Jude Bellingham left among the substitutes alongside Bernardo Silva.

Real Madrid’s starting line-up is:

Goalkeeper: Courtois

Defenders: Arnold, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella

Midfielders: Valverde, Tchouameni, Guler

Forwards: Diomande, Vinicius Junior, Mbappe

Real Madrid are second in the La Liga table with 12 points from their opening five matches. They have won four games and suffered one defeat.

Elche, meanwhile, begin the match in 19th place and second from bottom, with two points.

Elche’s line-up is:

Goalkeeper: Dituro

Defenders: Sangare, Redondo, Chust, Revivo

Midfielders: Valera, Villar, Morente, Aguado, Neto

Forward: Osorio