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Real Madrid vs Shakhtar: Los Blancos craving for revenge

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With qualification into Last-16 still up for grabs, the Spanish champions will look to avoid a repeat of their terrible 1st leg performance.

A face-off between Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Madrid awaits on Tuesday as the Champions League returns for group stage matchday 5.

The visiting side, who occupy the second position in Group B, three points clear of third-placed upcoming opponents, need all three points to book their place in the first knockout rounds.

Qualification chances remain alive for the hosts as well, but they will have to complete a double over the record winners of the competition, having already beaten them 3-2 in the first leg in October.

Real Madrid vs Shakhtar Form:

The Ukrainian outfit have enough reasons to go into Tuesday’s match with their heads held high.

For one, they beat the odds and put the mighty Real Madrid to the sword in their very own backyard in the reverse fixture. For another, they come into the match after yet another domestic win to keep up their unbeaten run in the league alive.

However, their form in the Champions League might be a demoralizer as they suffered back-to-back heavy defeats against Borussia Monchengladbach – 6-0 at home and 4-0 in Germany.

As for the La Liga champions, they have had a gray patch of form both in domestic and continental competition.

Los Blancos’ troubles continued over the weekend as they lost 2-1 to Alaves, slipping seven points behind the current leaders.

They failed to win either of the two opening European matches of the season but picked up back-to-back wins against Inter.

Real Madrid vs Shakhtar Head-to-head:

Thrice have the two teams previously met, with the team from the Spanish top-flight having won in two of those occasions.

Real Madrid vs Shakhtar Team News:

Yevhen Konoplyanka, Davit Khocholava, Ismaily, and Dentinho will all miss the upcoming clash due to injuries.

Junior Moraes and Andriy Pyatov did not play against Dnipro-1 but both are now available for selection.

Eden Hazard’s injury was confirmed on Monday and he was subsequently ruled out for the trip to Kyiv. Other absentees from the team sheet include Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal, Federico Valverde, Luka Jovic, and Alvaro Odriozola.

Karim Benzema, meanwhile, is in contention to regain his place in the line-up after recovering from his groin problem.

Predicted line-ups:

Real Madrid vs Shakhtar Latest Odds:

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