Mourinho keeps lineup under wraps for Rayo clash, welcomes back Asencio

The loss to Betis left plenty of questions hanging in the air, and Jose Mourinho has no plans to answer them ahead of schedule. With Rayo Vallecano up next in La Liga, the Portuguese coach once again kept his cards close to his chest on the starting lineup, though he did share one piece of news that should lift spirits in the locker room: Raul Asencio is available again.

The center back had been carrying a muscle problem since preseason and had yet to make his debut this campaign in the white shirt. His return comes at a good time for Real Madrid, which still needs options at the back given the lengthy injury list: Ferland Mendy, Eder Militao and Rodrygo Goes remain sidelined and were left out of the squad.

There's more good news elsewhere: Aurelien Tchouameni, Endrick and Thiago Pitarch are all back after putting their respective knocks behind them, something confirmed during the match against Inter Milan. As for the academy, only one name from La Fabrica made the squad to host Rayo: youth product Sergio Mestre, the lone fresh face Mourinho decided to call up for this fixture.

Not a single hint on the lineup

As has become the norm all season, Mourinho gave nothing away about who would be selected. Asked about possible rotations given the packed schedule, his answer was, once again, an exercise in calculated ambiguity.

Looking at the last match, we've got Camavinga, Bernardo and Arda Guler back. It's a squad with enough strength to give a chance to some legs that still have plenty of gas left, and give others a bit of rest, which is also important.Jose Mourinho

The coach stressed that the physical toll is real: it's three matches in nine days, a demanding stretch that forces him to manage minutes without losing sight of what's right in front of him. "The focus is on how we can win the next match. What matters is that two or three players who didn't play in the last match can give the team a bit more energy," he added.

The Diomande mystery

One of the names generating the most curiosity is Yan Diomande, the most expensive signing in the club's history, who is still waiting for his first league start and has so far been behind Brahim Diaz in the pecking order out wide.

Asked directly whether the young winger would start against Rayo, Mourinho shut the door again with an answer that also made his method clear:

I don't want to say who's playing and who isn't. If I tell you Diomande is playing, then you know he's playing, and if I tell you he isn't, you know that too. Right now I'm not thinking about three matches, I'm thinking about tomorrow's. It's a match we have to win and go into strong. Obviously there's room for fresh energy, legs with plenty of gas. We worked very hard in Tuesday's match. Right now we have a squad with plenty of options.Jose Mourinho

With Asencio back, some breathing room at the back and the eternal question mark over Diomande, Real Madrid heads into the match against Rayo Vallecano with more options than certainties. And that, it seems, is exactly how Mourinho likes to run things.