Mourinho leaves Vinicius out of Real Madrid starting XI against Villarreal

Jose Mourinho has left Vinicius Junior out of Real Madrid’s starting line-up for Saturday’s La Liga meeting with Villarreal at Santiago Bernabeu.

The Brazil forward will begin the eighth-round match on the substitutes’ bench, with Mourinho instead selecting Ivorian Yan Diomande to start alongside Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe in attack.

Federico Valverde has also been named in the starting XI despite doubts over his availability following his injury in the Madrid derby.

Real Madrid’s line-up is:

Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois

Defenders: Antonio Rudiger, Ibrahima Konate, Carreras, Trent Alexander-Arnold

Midfielders: Federico Valverde, Arda Guler, Aurelien Tchouameni

Forwards: Yan Diomande, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe

Real Madrid C.F. confirmed the team selection in a social-media post published on 10 October 2026.