One final test before Laliga. Real Madrid return to a stadium Mourinho knows very well

Real Madrid will complete their preseason preparations on Sunday with a friendly against Schalke 04 at the VELTINS-Arena. Kick-off is scheduled for 17:00 CEST, with José Mourinho’s side playing their fourth and final warm-up match before competitive football begins. Madrid are still unbeaten this preseason, recording two wins and one draw.

There will be plenty of attention on the squad. Yan Diomande, Marc Cucurella and Ibrahima Konaté have all been called up for the first time and could make their unofficial Real Madrid debuts. Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Thibaut Courtois are also back, finally giving Mourinho the chance to work with something much closer to his full-strength team.

Endrick and Tchouaméni will remain in Madrid, while Asencio, Mendy, Rodrygo, Militão and Thiago continue their respective recovery programmes.

There is also a nice bit of history attached to Sunday’s venue. Schalke are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the VELTINS-Arena, where more than 60,000 supporters are expected. Mourinho has particularly good memories of Gelsenkirchen: it was there in 2004 that his Porto side beat Monaco to win the Champions League.

Madrid’s own recent record at Schalke is equally pleasant reading. Their last two competitive visits produced 6-1 and 2-0 victories, both in Champions League round-of-16 ties.

The result will matter less than what Mourinho tries. Cucurella and Konaté could appear in a new-look defence, Diomande may finally get his first minutes alongside Vinícius and Mbappé, and the battle between Trent and Dumfries remains another one to watch. After Sunday, the experimental stage is effectively over.

SCHALKE 04 – REAL MADRID
📅 Sunday, August 16
⏰ 17:00 CEST
🏟️ VELTINS-Arena, Gelsenkirchen
📺 Real Madrid TV, RM Play and La 1, according to Real Madrid’s official information.