Real Madrid will look to make it six wins in a row in all competitions when they host Union Berlin in their Champions League opener.
Real Madrid are all set to square up against Union Berlin for the very first time in the history of the UEFA Champions League. The record winners will look to kick things off with a win while the Champions League debutants will look to create an upset on their debut in the competition.
Los Blancos managed to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League last season. Overall, it was another good year for the Spanish team in Europe, but the manner of their exit did raise major concerns. After playing out a 1-1 draw against Manchester City at home. They squared up against Pep Guardiola’s men in the second leg at the Etihad only to get smashed 4-0.
Real Madrid will look to put that defeat behind them and have another stellar season in the UEFA Champions League. They are heading into this fixture in red-hot form, having won all five of their league games. Their last outing was a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad, and they will look to keep the winning run going against the German visitors.
Meanwhile, Union Berlin have had quite a journey over the past few seasons. They got promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time four years back and since then, they have not looked back. They have already featured in the Europa League in the recent past and are now all set for this Champions League debut, that too against the most successful team in the competition.
But Union Berlin’s recent form is a cause of major concern. They have lost their last two league outings. And, things won’t get easier when they square up against a star-studded team led by Carlo Ancelotti.
Urs Fischer’s men will have to punch above their weight to get a positive result against Los Blancos. Meanwhile, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the two teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
Team News and Tactics
Real Madrid
Dani Ceballos made it back to the matchday squad in their last outing, and Ferland Mendy should be back in the mix for this fixture. Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti will still be without the services of Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao, Vinicius Junior and Arda Guler. Dani Carvajal will also be unavailable for this outing after Carlo Ancelotti confirmed it during his press conference.
🧤 @kepa_46 🧤#RMCity pic.twitter.com/gwVvmY7dLY
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) September 19, 2023
Ancelotti is unlikely to make any major changes to the XI that took the field in their last outing. He will stick to the 4-4-2 formation where Kepa Arrizabalaga will be in goal. Fran Garcia will continue as the left-back, while Nacho will take charge as right-back in the absence of Carvajal.
Meanwhile, Antonio Rüdiger will pair up with David Alaba in the heart of the defence. The back four might not have kept many clean sheets of late but they have been doing a great job overall.
Aurelien Tchouameni will take care of the defensive side of things in the centre of the park. He will have the support of Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga on either side. Meanwhile, star signing Jude Bellingham will continue as the attacking midfielder behind the two forwards.
Up top, Joselu will start alongside Rodrygo Goes. The duo has been doing a great job in the absence of the Vinicius and they are expected to put up another great show.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Kepa; Nacho, Rudiger, Alaba, Fran Garcia; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Bellingham; Joselu, Rodrygo
Union Berlin
Urs Fischer will be without the services of Rani Khedira, Andras Schafer and Laurenz Dehl for this away trip to Madrid. Meanwhile, they do have a boost as Kevin Volland, who is serving a Bundesliga suspension, will be available for this outing.
Stressed, Freddie?
Not a chance. pic.twitter.com/uObPJwNbzf— 1. FC Union Berlin (English) (@fcunion_en) September 18, 2023
The visitors will use the 3-5-2 formation where Frederik Ronnow will be in goal. The back three will consist of Danilho Doekhi, Robin Knoche and Diogo Leite. The trio will have a tough task of keeping the star-studded Real Madrid attack at bay.
The Union Berlin backline will have the support of Josip Juranovic and Robin Gosens, who will start out wide as the wing-backs. Meanwhile, in the centre of the park, Brenden Aaronson will start alongside Aissa Laidouni and Alex Kral. Kevin Behrens, who has already scored four goals in this season, will start up top alongside on-loan Chelsea forward David Datro Fofana.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Ronnow; Doekhi, Knoche, Leite; Juranovic, Laidouni, Kral, Aaronson, Gosens; Fofana, Behrens
Key Stats
- For the first team in the history of the Champions League, Real Madrid will be facing Union Berlin.
- Jude Bellingham has been on fire since signing for Real Madrid, he has six goal contributions in five league starts.
- Full-back Robin Gosens have found the back of the net thrice in three league stars for Union Berlin.
- Joselu has three goal contributions in his two league starts.
- Bellingham has faced Union Berlin six times while playing for Borussia Dortmund but he is yet to contribute to a goal against them.
Player to Watch
Rodrygo Goes
In the last two seasons, Rodrygo has featured in 23 Champions League games. The majority of his appearances have come off the bench and despite that, he has found the back of the net on ten occasions and has also bagged four assists.
This time, out he will be a regular for Los Blancos in the UEFA Champions League, and he is expected to be the leader of that attack in the absence of Vinicius Junior who is out injured. The 22-year-old forward has featured in all five of their league games but has found the back of the net only once. He will look to improve on his performance in the final third and get himself on the score sheet against Union Berlin.
Prediction
Real Madrid 2-0 Union Berlin
Record winners of the Champions League are all set to square up against UEFA Champions League debutants. This is the first meeting between Real Madrid and Union Berlin in Europe and is expected to exciting encounter.
While there is a huge difference in quality between the two teams, the German club might still end up putting up a fight against Carlo Ancelotti’s men. Union Berlin are an unfamiliar opposition for the Spanish giants and they will not take it easy by any means.
The German club will give it their all to cause an upset here but it might not be enough. The Hard Tackle believes Real Madrid will come out on top with a scoreline of 2-0 at the end.
