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A rejuvenated Real Madrid amble into their favourite hunting ground, the Champions League, this Wednesday as they prepare to welcome Ukraine side Shakhtar Donetsk to begin their quest to erase the scars of last season.
The champions of 2014 were yet again ousted in the semi-finals last term and kick-start the new season with the ambitions of reclaiming the summit of European football.
With a new manager at the helm and a handful of additions to the roster, Los Blancos have taken off to a fine start to their league campaign but it is now when they actually commence valuable ties, somethings which will have a say in their title hopes.
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid.
Timings: 12:15 am, Wednesday (IST)
Team news
For the hosts, there some injury concerns ahead of the clash as they’ll be without the services of their talismanic midfielder James Rodriguez, who sustained a torn thigh muscle while on international duty and has been sidelined for a month. His absence means another young gun of Real Madrid, Isco, will have a shot at the starting XI. However, that’s not all, right-back Danilo too will be missing the Champions League opener on account of a foot injury, allowing Daniel Carvajal to reclaim his spot.
Whereas for the visiting side, they arrive at the Spanish capital with no notable absentees or casualties to deal with.
Form guide
In the three games that Real Madrid have played out so far this season, all in the domestic league, they have emerged winners on two occasions, being held to a draw once.
On the opening day to Sporting Gijon, the Meringues were surprisingly held to a goalless stalemate but responded back in an emphatic fashion by racking up 5-0 and 6-0 victories in the consequent fixtures. Naturally, it has put their confidence over the hills and enter this game in a rich vein of form.
Shakhtar Donetsk, on the other hand, have already participated in 11 games coming into this fixture, spilled across four different competitions. They began the season by clinching the Ukrainian Super cup and secured a place in the Champions League after driving out Fenerbahce and Rapid Wien over two-legged ties. Their qualifying rounds were interspersed with Ukrainian cup and league fixtures in which, out of 7 games, they’ve won 5 times and sit second in the table.
Possible line-ups
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Keylor Navas; Daniel Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo; Luka Modric, Isco, Toni Kroos; Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Shakhtar Donetsk (4-2-3-1): Andriy Pyatov; Darijo Srna, Oleksandr Kucher, Yaroslav Rakytskiy, Marcio Azevedo; Fred, Taras Stepanenko; Marlos, Alex Teixeira, Taison; Oleksandr Hladkyi
Past meetings
This will be the first ever European encounter between the two sides.
Key facts
- Real Madrid have failed to win only two of their last 46 opening games in Europe, most recent being a 3-3 draw at Anderlecht, back in 1962.
- Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the joint-top scorer of the Champions League with 77 goals, shared with Lionel Messi.
- Real Madrid’s overall record against Ukranian outfits: W5 D6 L1.
- Shakhtar have visited Spain in each of their last two opening games in Europe.
- The Miner’s best finish in the Champions League came in 2010/11 season when they made it till the last 8.
