This is as big as it gets for Real Madrid this season. After falling 17 points behind Barcelona in La Liga and being knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Leganes, Los Blancos need to believe they can win their third consecutive Champions League title if they want any trophies this season.
They will be facing Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16. The French side invested heavily in Neymar and Mbappe last summer and are clearly one of the candidates to win the European title, so Real Madrid will have their hands full in the first knock-out round.
Zidane is expected to trust the BBC of Bale, Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. These three players need to prove that they can still get the job done, because if they don’t it’s clear that the board will upgrade the offensive line in the summer.
Either way, both teams face heavy pressure. PSG need to show that all the money they spent was worth it while Madrid can’t just lose and play three months of meaningless football in La Liga.
HOW TO WATCH, STREAM CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Date: 02/14/2018
Time: 20:45 CET, 02:45pm EST, 11:45am Pacific.
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain.
Available TV: FOX Sports 1 (USA), BT Sport 3 (UK), BeIN Sports (Spain).
Available Streaming: FOX Sports GO (USA), Fubo.TV (EVERY Real Madrid game with a high-quality and legal stream, click here to sign up and benefit from a winter discount for new members and Managing Madrid readers).