Kick Off 8:45pm
Team News
Real Madrid
- Real Madrid will progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League if they avoid defeat to Galatasaray and head into the fixture on the back of an impressive 5-0 win over Almeria.
- Head coach Carlo Ancelotti will be without the services of Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane, Sami Khedira and Fábio Coentrão through injury, while Luka Modric is suspended.
- Iker Casillas will come in for Diego Lopez in goal, while Álvaro Arbeloa may come in for Dani Carvajal at right-back.
Galatasaray
- Galatasaray bounced back from the derby defeat to Fenerbahçe with a 2-1 win over Sivasspor and manager Roberto Mancini will be looking to secure a positive result in Madrid.
- The Italian, however, will be without the services of Hamit Altintop, Fernando Muslera, Aydin Yilmaz, Engin Baytar and Yekta Kurtulus, while Wesley Sneijder and Semih Kaya are both doubts and have travelled with the team.
- Didier Drogba is set to return to the starting XI after starting the weekend victory on the bench.
Match Facts
Prediction
- Real Madrid know full well that they can secure their place in the knockout stages of the competition if they can avoid defeat at the Bernabeu. Head coach Carlo Ancelotti, however, will look to secure maximum points to prove they're more than a match in the Champions League without talisman Cristiano Ronaldo.
- Galatasaray will take a huge step towards the next round if they can pick up a positive result in Spain and they'll look to atone for the 6-1 reverse they suffered when the two teams met at the Türk Telekom Arena back in September. Manager Roberto Mancini knows he has a great opportunity to secure at least a point in the Spanish capital.
- However, Los Blancos boast the necessary strength to ensure they pick up maximum points at the expense of the Turkish side, even without Ronaldo available.
Real Madrid
Galatasaray
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