The battles of the new UEFA Champions League season continue on Wednesday. This evening there will be eight more matches in groups E-H.
The eagerly awaited journey of Madrid's "Real" team towards defending the title continues. The three-time consecutive tournament winner this season is without its main protagonists - coach Zinedine Zidane and forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the very first match of group G, the team trained by Julen Lopetegui faces a serious test - last season's semifinalist and the team that eliminated "Barcelona" from the tournament, "Roma". The match at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium will kick off at 22:00.
Sporting Form
Both clubs have already experienced victories, draws, and losses this season. The local championship contender "Roma" is in a much worse situation, having only secured one victory so far.
"Real Madrid" started the season without C. Ronaldo not very successfully - they lost in the UEFA Super Cup to their city rivals, Madrid "Atletico", but their journey in the Spanish championship until this weekend was almost perfect - victories against Madrid "Getafe", "Girona", and "Leganes".
However, on Saturday the "whites" lost their first points when they had to fight in the Basque fortress against Bilbao "Athletic". Madrid "Real" did not play poorly, but "Athletic" showed character and finished the match by taking points from one of the league favorites - 1:1.
Nevertheless, the game of the royal club currently gives hope, and even in the absence of C. Ronaldo, there are no major problems - Karim Benzema has already scored five goals, Gareth Bale - three.
"Roma's" performance in the Italian championship is very poor - they have only one victory in four matches. The "Romans" have already suffered one defeat and played two draws.
Both teams cannot boast of excellent defense - "Roma" has already conceded seven goals, "Real", including the match against "Atletico", has also conceded seven.
Team News
Playing at home, Madrid "Real" currently has no problems with the physical preparation of the players - no footballer has had health issues, and all 25 players of the team are ready to step on the field.
It is expected that against "Roma" we will see an unchanged starting eleven from the Spanish capital team since last season - even though Marco Asensio has already established himself in the starting lineup, it is likely that Isco will take his place tonight, and Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema will form the attacking duo.
Regarding the goalkeeper, there are still speculations, but it is believed that Keylor Navas will remain the main choice in the Champions League tournament this season. If we compare the final eleven from last season, only G. Bale would be a new face, taking C. Ronaldo's position.
There have been quite a few changes in the "Roma" team after last season - the main goalkeeper and one of the key players in the defense have left. Ante Coric and Javier Pastore will definitely not be able to help in this match.
According to sources, Eusebio Di Francesco is expected to play with a 4-3-3 formation. Among the new faces in the starting lineup, it is most likely that Robin Olsen, Steven N'Zonzi, and Nicolo Zaniolo will play.
Predicted starting lineups:
"Real Madrid": (4-3-3) Navas; Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Casemiro, Kroos, Modrić; Isco, Benzema, Bale.
"Roma": (4-3-3) Olsen; Florenzi, Manolas, Fazio, Kolarov; Nzonzi, De Rossi, Zaniolo; Ünder, Džeko, El Shaarawy.
Interesting Facts
The "Roma" team has only managed to keep a clean sheet against Madrid's "Real" once in the last 10 Champions League matches. In 2002, a precise strike from Francesco Totti at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium determined the visitors' 1-0 victory.
Madrid's "Real" is the first team since 1976 to win three consecutive trophies in the strongest European club tournament. The last time the European Cup was won the same number of times was by "Bayern".
This will be the 22nd consecutive season in the UEFA Champions League tournament for the team from the Spanish capital. This is the longest streak ever recorded by a single club. Throughout all these years, "Real" has never dropped out after the group stage, and the last eight times they have at least reached the semifinals.
The "Whites" team has failed to score in just one of their last 56 Champions League matches - in 2015, they played a goalless draw with PSG in the group stage.
For the "Roma" club, these away matches in the Champions League are one of the most unpleasant things - "Roma" has won only once in the last 15 matches played at the opponents' stadium. They have played to a draw five times and suffered nine losses.
Madrid's "Real" lost Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, who contributed to 50 percent of all team goals since 2009. In turn, "Roma" leader Edin Džeko has scored five goals in the last five Champions League matches.
