Real Madrid welcomes already-eliminated Celtic to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night, hoping to clinch first place in Group F with a victory.
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Los Blancos lost their first competitive game since April, falling to RB Leipzig last Tuesday, and also faltered to Girona in LaLiga over the weekend, while their Scottish opponents triumphed convincingly at Livingston after their Champions League destiny was set in midweek.
Match preview
It is not often that we see Carlo Ancelotti quite as animated as he was after the final whistle on Sunday afternoon, as his Real Madrid side dropped points for just the second time this season in LaLiga, following a dramatic 1-1 draw with Girona.
The result now leaves Real Madrid one point ahead of Barcelona at the top of the standings, just five days after their 20-game unbeaten streak across all competitions came tumbling in Leipzig.
While Celtic’s Champions League campaign is mathematically over, after a 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk sealed their place at the bottom of Group F last Tuesday, Ange Postecoglou’s side continue to look imperious in the league, as they made it 10 wins from 11 in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
Maintaining their four-point lead over Rangers at the top of the table, the Hoops strolled to a 3-0 win over Livingston, as Kyogo Furuhashi scored his eighth goal in 10 league appearances with an emphatic, left-footed finish.
While a result is unlikely, given Los Blancos’ three-goal triumph at Celtic Park last month, Postecoglu’s men will be up for the fight, and will look to take Real Madrid all the way in their first visit to the Santiago Bernabeu for more than 40 years.
Team News
Real Madrid will be without Ballon D’or winner Karim Benzema for this one, as the Frenchman continues to recover from muscular fatigue after three games out of the side.
Having played nine games during the month of October, and with a tricky trip to Rayo Vallecano to come on the weekend, expect to see a few rotations to Carlo Ancelotti’s extremely competitive XI.
Marco Asensio and Eden Hazard may come into the squad, while Aurelien Tchouameni should return to the midfield after he was given time off against Girona.
For the visitors, Callum McGregor will continue his spell on the sidelines after he sustained a knee injury against Leipzig, while Jota could have another part to play off the bench after his successful return to action on the weekend.
In addition, Swedish centre-back Carl Starfelt failed to make the squad against Livingston but could make the bench here, after he picked up a knee injury back in September.
Otherwise, Celtic have a largely healthy squad ahead of a historic trip to the Bernabeu.
Possible starting lineup:
| Real Madrid | Celtic |
|---|---|
| Courtois, Thibaut | Hart, Joe |
| Carvajal, Dani | Taylor, Greg |
| Alaba, David | Carter-Vickers, Cameron |
| Mendy, Ferland | Jenz, Moritz |
| Militao, Eder | Juranovic, Josip |
| Kroos, Toni | O’Riley, Matt |
| Valverde, Federico | McGregor, Callum |
| Modric, Luka | Mooy, Aaron |
| Junior, Vinicius | Hatate, Reo |
| Rodrygo | Jota |
| Benzema, Karim | Furuhashi, Kyogo |
Probabilities
Real Madrid = 70.5%
Draw = 19.4%
Celtic = 10.1%
Prediction
Real Madrid 2-0 Celtic
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