Real Madrid will clash heads with CSKA Moscow at the VEB Arena on Tuesday night hoping to build on their opening night win against AS Roma in the UEFA Champions League. The Galacticos couldn’t manage to break down their rivals, Atletico Madrid on Saturday but they will be more optimistic about finding the back of the net versus the Russian heavyweights in midweek.
Despite their recent struggles in the La Liga, Los Blancos has developed a reputation of performing well in the Champions League after winning the prestigious European trophy three times in a row. Hence, we can expect another strong showing from the Galacticos on Tuesday as they aim to come away with maximum points from Russia.
Julen Lopetegui is expected to start with a 4-3-3 formation and might name an unchanged side for this European encounter.
4-3-3 Real Madrid Predicted Lineup To Face CSKA Moscow
Defence
Keylor Navas will line up as the keeper in Madrid’s starting XI for this Champions League encounter while Thibaut Courtois would start on Lopetegui’s bench. The centre-back partnership of Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos should continue at the heart of the Galacticos backline. Nacho would resume his duties at left-back while Dani Carvajal looks to join in on the attack down the right flank.
The Galacticos defence has kept three clean sheets in their last four matches in all competitions so they would be confident about keeping things tight at the back on Tuesday night.
Midfield
The magnificent midfield trio of Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modric are likely to feature against the Russian giants at the centre of the park. All three of them have begun the season in outstanding form and are expected to dominate proceedings at the VEB Arena.
Isco will miss out on this European encounter as he continues his recovery from acute appendicitis.
Attack
The front three of Marco Asensio, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale are expected to start up top for Los Blancos. All three of them could not manage to break down a resolute Atletico Madrid defence on Saturday so they will be desperate to return to goal-scoring ways against their Russian opponents in midweek.
Mariano might come off the bench to make an impact in this game if needed.
