MADRID: Real Madrid and Sevilla have Champions League away games on Tuesday night, but the needs of the two clubs are very different.
Real Madrid travel to face Shahktar Donetsk in a match to be played in Poland, knowing that a win would give them 12 points from their first four group matches and virtually secure their place in the tournament’s knockout stage in as group winners.
Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is still injury-free with Lucas Vazquez, while goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois struggles with a back problem, but will bring Karim Benzema back into the squad after resting the Frenchman in Saturday’s win in Getafe.
Shahktar proved to be a strong rival at the Santiago Bernabeu last week, digging deep to lose only 2-1 after conceding early goals from Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr and they know a win would give a huge boost to their options to reach the last 16 .
With the ‘Clasico’ on the horizon against FC Barcelona on Saturday, Ancelotti will no doubt be looking to sit deep and play through the break and if his side can secure a win and conserve their energy, then great, Xinhua reports. .
Things are completely different with Sevilla, whose Champions League future looks bleak with just one point from a possible nine, and realistically they need a win to have any chance of reaching the knockout stage. direct.
Dortmund won 4-1 at Sevilla last week in Julen Lopetegui’s last game and although his replacement, Jorge Sampaoli, led a half-hearted reaction at home to Athletic Club Bilbao on Saturday, there is still a lot of work to be done. TO DO.
Sampaoli dropped key players such as Ivan Rakitic, Marcos Acuna and Bono on Saturday and it will be interesting to see if they return to the squad and if Sevilla can maintain their aggressive start this weekend for longer.
The gas lasted barely 20 minutes against Athletic and if they are to at least have a chance of making the Europa League, Sevilla need to improve.