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The competitive phase of this Champions League season has brought a number of unexpected events, but one of the biggest surprises is that there is a possibility that Real Madrid will not qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament as they host Tuesday RB Salzburg. It would be a total disaster for Los Blancos if they didn’t progress, but with three league defeats already, it’s a very real defeat.
They will face an RB Salzburg side who are on the brink of elimination and could make it to the knockout stages themselves, having conceded 18 goals in the league stages so far. With the match taking place at the Santiago Bernabeu, this gives Real Madrid the opportunity to run up the score in an attempt to go higher as they cannot afford any more missteps in this tournament.
Here are our storylines, how to watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday January 22 | Time: 3:00 PM ET
- Location: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu — Madrid, Spain
- Live stream: Biggest+
- Chances: Real Madrid-1600; Sign +1100; RB Salzburg +3000
Storylines
Real Madrid: After topping the League, Real Madrid were able to put a poor loss to Barcelona behind them to return the focus to winning the Champions League. Lucas Vazquez is suspended for yellow cards, but for a rare time this season, Carlo Ancelotti’s men have not suffered any new injuries that they will have to deal with in this game. With Kylian Mbappe starting to find his footing, there should be enough firepower available to break through the Austrian side’s defence.
Real Madrid predicted XI: Thibaut Courtois, Lorenzo Aguado, Raul Asencio, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy, Federico Valverde, Dani Ceballos, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe
RB Salzburg: To stay in contention for the knockout stages, Salzburg will have to do everything they can to take on Real Madrid. No strangers to the Champions League; Getting a result in Spain will be one of their toughest challenges yet. Throwing everything forward will also mean the defense is easier to counter in what could be an easy win for Madrid.
RB Salzburg predicted XI: Janis Blaswich, Aleksa Terzic, Kamil Pitakowski, Samson Baidoo, Leandro Morgalla, Nene Dorgeles, Mads Bidsturp, Nicolas Capaldo, Moussa Yeo, Petar Ratkov, Oscar Gloukh
Prediction
A brace from Mbappe will ensure Real Madrid keep pace with the teams ahead of them. The top eight may be out of reach, but they can still secure a seeded spot in the knockout stages. Choose: Real Madrid 4, RB Salzburg 1