Real Madrid looks for the key to the round of 16 in Warsaw

Real Madrid looks for the key to the round of 16 in Warsaw

The madridista team wants to guarantee a pass to the Champions League knockout rounds against Shakhtar Donetsk and get stronger for the Clásico

MADRID, 10 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Real Madrid is seeking this Tuesday at the Municipal Stadium Mariscal Józef Pilsudski in Warsaw (9:00 p.m. / Movistar Champions League) a new victory against a Shakhtar Donetsk 'touched' in the mood that guarantees their pass to the round of 16 of the League of Champions, a result that would also reinforce him mentally ahead of next weekend's Clásico.

The undisputed leader of Group F with plenty of victories (3), Carlo Ancelotti's team is five points ahead of the second-placed team, precisely the Ukrainian side, and now has the opportunity to mathematically seal its presence in the knockout rounds.

In addition, the madridistas, who beat Celtic (0-3), Leipzig (2-0) and Shakhtar himself (2-1) in the first three days, could even guarantee themselves advancing to the round of 16 as group winners, which it happens to get a new victory and that the German team (3) does not win in its visit to Glasgow.

The comfortable situation in 'Champions' contrasts with the opposition he finds in LaLiga Santander, where a week ago he lost the lead alone after his draw against Osasuna (1-1). Even so, they remain with the same 22 points as FC Barcelona after beating Getafe on Saturday in their first league match without conceding a goal.

Precisely the azulgranas will be the white team's next rival in the Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu, a duel where first place will be at stake and which he hopes to arrive fresh. Thus, everything happens by rotating at the Municipal Stadium Marshal Józef Pilsudski, better known as the Polish Army Stadium.

At the moment, Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that this duel could mean the first break for the Brazilian Vinicius Jr, the only one who has played, and started, all the games, so men like Marco Asensio or the Belgian Eden Hazard could have their chance in an offensive front where Karim Benzema will return.

The presence of the '9', who missed the duel at the Alfonso Pérez Coliseum due to muscle discomfort and who was one of the scorers in the Whites' only previous game in Warsaw, on that occasion against Legia (3-3) in the 2016-17 season, it was also confirmed by the Italian coach.

In addition, the Reggiolo also admitted that Toni Kroos and Ferland Mendy will play after resting on Saturday, while the presence of Lucas Vázquez at a press conference drops his more than possible title on the right side to the detriment of Dani Carvajal.

On the other hand, the Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, with sciatica, is still not available to play, so Andriy Lunin will start against his compatriots as the guardian of a defense where Nacho Fernández could also have his chance in an eleven with doubts who will make up the entire midfield.

A SHAKHTAR WITH HIS MIND ON HIS FAMILIES

Opposite, Shakhtar receives the current champion with a very 'touched' spirit in the locker room after the severe tightening of the Russian offensive that Ukraine experienced on Monday. Igor Jovicevic's team is 'far away' from the situation in his 'exile' in Warsaw, his home in the Champions League during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but it will be necessary to see how his players, the vast majority of whom are Ukrainians, are psychologically and with their families in the midst of the conflict.

In any case, his coach has appealed to character to try to overcome and show his pride in search of giving the country a joy, also spurred on by his good performance last week at the Santiago Bernabéu, where he fell by the minimum (2-1) , although, especially in the first part, it could have been thrashed.

"Real Madrid deserved to win and could have scored more, but we played bravely and took risks and, in the end, we could have achieved a 2-2 draw," said Igor Jovicevic, a Real Madrid Castilla player between 1991 and 1995.

The postponement of their league game against Lviv due to the latest Russian bombardments means that the 'miners' have only played one game -last week against Real Madrid- in the last ten days, which will allow the Ukrainians to get out of start with his usual eleven where he hopes to have the best version of the promising Mudryk.

SHAKHTAR DONETSK: Trubin; Konoplya, Bondar, Matviyenko, Lucas Taylor; Stepanenko, Sudakov, Bondarenko; Shved, Mudryk and Zubkov.

REAL MADRID: Lunín; Lucas Vazquez, Nacho, Rudiger, Mendy; Kroos, Camavinga, Modric; Asensio, Benzema and Hazard.

--ARBITOR: Orel Grinfeeld (ISR).

--STADIUM: Municipal Marshal Józef Pilsudski.

--TIME: 21.00/Movistar Champions League.