Real Madrid v Juventus: Line-ups, stats and preview
Real Madrid face a Juventus side struggling for form at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid will look to make it three wins from three to begin their Champions League campaign when they host Juventus at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Madrid head into Wednesday’s clash on the back of a 1-0 win over Getafe on Sunday that maintained their position atop LaLiga.
Kylian Mbappe struck in the 80th minute, his goal coming either side of red cards for Getafe as the hosts finished with nine men.
That made eight wins from nine for Xabi Alonso as Madrid coach in LaLiga, but he has a 100 percent record in the Champions League, having steered his team to victories over Marseille and Kairat.
As such, Madrid are already in a strong position to progress from the league phase, with their position in contrast to Juve, who are in need of a victory after starting their campaign with successive draws.
Juve produced a thrilling fightback to draw 4-4 with Borussia Dortmund before being held 2-2 by Villarreal.
But the Bianconeri are short of form heading into their clash with Madrid, having lost 2-0 to Como in Serie A at the weekend.
That made it six games without a win for Juve following their 4-3 victory over Inter Milan last month.
Despite a winless run that has placed coach Igor Tudor under pressure, Alonso is certainly not taking Juve lightly.
“We are very prepared. I’ve seen a team with the desire to win,” Alonso told a press conference. “We play at home, and we know people go to the Bernabeu with the desire to watch a big game.
“We’re alert for tomorrow. Any Italian team that is struggling can be dangerous. We must not forget history. Juventus are a great team, both from the past and in the present.”
Alonso identified Kenan Yildiz, a Bayern youth player while the Spaniard was still with Die Rotten, as a key threat for Juve.
Yildiz has not scored or assisted a goal for Juve since doing both in the win over Juve.
However, Alonso said: “They have very good players, and Yildiz is one of them. He’s had fantastic growth.
“I know him; he was at Bayern when I was there. Seeing his progress makes me very happy.”
“Tactically, Juventus are a very rich team. They change position a lot and rotate consistently.
“If you are not well-organised, they’re capable of breaking your balance. In that aspect, we have to be solid, and with the ball, we need to be vertical and take the game where we want it to go.”
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Team news for Real Madrid v Juventus
Madrid are dealing with a host of injuries at the back.
Dean Huijsen and Dani Carvajal are both out with muscle injuries, while Antonio Rudiger remains on the sideline with a hamstring problem.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (hamstring) and Ferland Mendy (thigh) are back in training, yet neither will feature against Juve.
In addition, David Alaba is out with a calf injury that will also keep him out of the Clasico.
For Juve, centre-back Bremer (meniscus) and left-back Juan Cabal (hamstring) are still unavailable.
Expected line-ups for Real Madrid v Juventus
Real Madrid: Courtois; Valverde, Militao, Asencio, Carreras; Tchouameni, Camavinga; Mastantuono, Guler, Vinicius; Mbappe
Juventus: Di Gregorio; Gatti, Rugani, Kelly; Kalulu, Locatelli, Thuram, Cambiaso; Conceicao, Yildiz; David
How to watch Real Madrid v Juventus: TV channel, online stream
Real Madrid v Juventus kicks off at 8pm UK time on Wednesday. It will be available to watch on Discovery Plus.
You can also watch the game on the bet365 app.
The stats for Real Madrid v Juventus
- This will be the 22nd meeting between Real Madrid and Juventus in the European Cup/Champions League – only Bayern Munich versus Real Madrid has been contested more times. (28).
- On three of the last four occasions Madrid have faced Juventus in the Champions League, they have gone on to win the competition that season (2013-14, 2016-17 and 2017-18), the exception coming in 2014-15, when Juve beat Los Blancos n the semi-finals 3-2 on aggregate.
- Alonso is looking to become the fifth manager to win his first three Champions League games with this club, along with Josef Heynckes, Carlos Queiroz, José Mourinho and most recently Carlo Ancelotti, whose third win was a home win against Juventus in 2013.
- Juventus have won only one of their last 11 Champions League away matches (D5 L5) since beating RB Leipzig on October 2 2024. Four of their last five away games in the competition have ended in draws (L1).
Prediction
Juve have provided plenty of entertainment already in the Champions League this season, but it’s difficult to see them turning around their disappointing form at the Bernabeu, though they seem likely to threaten a vulnerable Madrid defence.
Prediction: Real Madrid 3-1 Juventus
What do the experts think?
Our friends at the Italian Football Podcast have also previewed the game.
Watch it in full here: