Match Preview

Real Madrid are back in Champions League action as they prepare to host Shakhtar Donetsk at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Real were dominant in the away visit to Kyiv several weeks ago when they put up a commanding 5-0 victory. Real sit tied with Sheriff Tiraspol at 6 points in Group D so this could be the match to finally put the club on top of the group standings.

It couldn’t be worse for Shakhtar who have just a single point in the group. They are one of three teams in the Champions League who have yet to score a goal in this season’s group stage.

Injuries/Suspensions

Real Madrid will be without Rodrygo, Dani Ceballos, Gareth Bale and Mariano due to injury while Karim Benzema returns to the squad and the starting lineup.

Shakhtar will be without forward Junior Moraes and winger Yevhen Konoplyanka. There are no suspensions for either side in Wednesday’s meeting in Madrid.

Starting XIs

Real Madrid

Courtois; Carvajal, Militão , Alaba, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Vazquez, Vinicius, Benzema

The starting squad for Carlo Ancelotti’s side will look similar to how it has of recent with just a couple of minor changes.

Lucas Vazquez will get the start for the injured Rodrygo on the right side of the forward corps. Benzema returns to the starting lineup after missing the Elche match over the weekend.

Shakhtar Donetsk

Pyatov; Dodo, Santos, Matvienko, Ismaily; Maycon, Stepanenko; Tete, Solomon, Alan Patrick; Fernando

Prediction

Real Madrid—Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0

This should be a fairly winnable match for Real Madrid considering what they were able to do on the road in Kyiv the last time around. Shakhtar have shown so far in this tournament how hard goals have been to come by for them.

The quality of Real’s lineup should be good enough to once again achieve a commanding victory over Shakhtar, especially now at home in Madrid. The three points would be handy in maintaining the second spot in Group D or finally jumping past first-place Sheriff.