Real Madrid’s season will look very different on Monday, come what may. Los Blancos face Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Supercup semi-final on Thursday night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and should they progress, will remain there until Sunday for the final against either Athletic Club or Barcelona, a competition that will define decisions made by the club hierarchy.

Manager Xabi Alonso has been under pressure for his position for the past month, following a dip in results after El Clasico. The Basque manager appears to have put out fires in the dressing room, after a series of reports claiming a number of star players were not happy with his coaching. However results and performances have not seen a significant improvement, in spite of the fact that they are on a four-game winning run.

Alonso conscious future will be defined in Saudi Arabia

For some time it has been posited that Alonso will be given until the Supercup to show an improvement on hte pitch, and that remains the case. Diario AS explain that Alonso himself is conscious that the tournament is an ultimatum on his future, and failure to win or convince the Real Madrid hierarchy through performances will likely result in his dismissal.

Real Madrid hope to address injuries

There has been an acknowledgement within the club that injuries have hamstrung both Alonso and predecessor Carlo Ancelotti, something they are investigating in order to resolve. Former club doctor Niko Mihic was brought back this week in a ‘supervisory’ role in order to work with the medical department again.

Alonso all in without Mbappe

One of the key factors in the decision to bring back Mihic was the handling of Kylian Mbappe’s injury. The French forward has reportedly been nursing a knee problem for much of the last month, but last week was ruled out for 2-3 weeks, having played through it. It means that Alonso will be without his most effective player for his biggest game(s) of the season.