Champions League: Real Madrid Vs Marseille, Los Blancos Will Party At Home?

Arda Guler and Kylian Mbappe (right), the front line duo of Real Madrid to watch out for (photo: x @realmadriden)

JAKARTA - Real Madrid will start their 16th Champions League trophy win at home to Marseille at the Santiago Bernabeu, Tuesday night, September 16. This will be the team's first meeting since the 2009-10 season, when Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace in home and away games to help Los Blancos win two.

Xabi Alonso's troops came into this match with perfect performance at the start of the season. After failing in the Club World Cup semifinals, Real Madrid immediately got up and recorded four consecutive wins in La Liga. They beat Osasuna, Real Oviedo, and Mallorca before the international break, then extended the positive trend with a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday 13 September.

The match against Sociedad did not go smoothly because Madrid had to play with 10 people for an hour after Dean Huijsen was rewarded with a controversial red card for allegedly committing the last foul on Mikel Oyarzabal. Although Oyarzabal equalized the score through penalties, Kylian Mbappe and Arda Guler's goals were enough to ensure victory and maintain a 100% record in La Liga.

Now Los Blancos' focus is turning to the Champions League. Last season they only finished 11th in the league stage with five wins and three defeats from eight matches. Madrid certainly wants to improve that record this season. Meeting statistics also sided with them: Real Madrid have won all four previous matches against Marseille, scoring at least three goals in three of them.

Meanwhile, Marseille is back in the main phase of the Champions League after participating for the last time in the 2022-23 season. They finished second in Ligue 1 last season, which ensures direct tickets to this competition.

Roberto De Zerbi's troops came to Bernabeu with a 4-0 win over Lorient last Friday. Mason Greenwood, Benjamin Pavard, Angel Gomes, and Nayef Aguerd scored in the first half of the landslide victory. However, Marseille's away record this season is still fragile, with two defeats to Ligue 1 away matches including a narrow loss to Lyon before the international break.

Historically, French clubs have never won at home to Real Madrid in 15 attempts in the Champions League or European Cup (4 draws, 11 defeats). This makes Marseille's mission to record a first win over Madrid will feel very heavy.

Madrid will appear without mainstay defender Antonio Rudiger who has a muscle injury and is expected to be out for about two months. Rudiger's absence adds to the list of injuries that also include Jude Bellingham, Ferland Mendy, and Endrick. Eduardo Camavinga is still doubtful.

Xabi Alonso is likely to rotate. Federico Valverde and Franco Mastantuono are likely to return to the starting XI. Trent Alexander-Arnold can also return to play at the right-back position replacing Dani Carvajal.

From the Marseille camp, goalkeeper Ruben Blanco and Pol defender Lirola were not included in the Champions League squad. Amine Gouiri has doubts about appearing after suffering a head injury in the win over Lorient. CJ Egan-Riley has returned from suspension, but it is likely that Pavard and Aguerd remain the first choice at the heart of defense. Rulli and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also have the chance to return to the starting XI after sitting on the bench last weekend.

Marseille did appear strong when they slaughtered Lorient, but their away record is still inconclusive. Facing Real Madrid at Bernabeu will be a big challenge, and Los Blancos are predicted to be able to maintain the perfect start of the season.

The game is expected to go tight, but Madrid's front quality with Mbappe and Vinicius is likely to be different.

Estimated Lineup Of Players

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1)Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Militao, Huijsen, Carreras; Valverde, Tchouameni; Mastantuono, Guler, Vinicius; Mbappe

Marseille (4-2-3-1)Rulli; Murillo, Pavard, Aguerd, Medina; Gomes, Kondogbia; Greenwood, Nadir, Weah; Aubameyang