Real Madrid will face Union Berlin in the Champions League on Wednesday night in a bid to make it six wins in a row in all competitions during the 2023-24 season." The 'Whites' will be coming off a 2-1 La Liga victory over Real Sociedad, who lost 1-2 to Wolfsburg on Saturday.
Despite Real Madrid not showing their best attacking game at the start of the season, the capital giants have won back-to-back La Liga matches in their opening five games of the season and now sit at the top of the table with 15 points. Carlo Ancelotti's side beat Athletic Bilbao and Almeria by two goals in their first two league games of the season, but they have been just slightly ahead in their last three games against Celta, Getafe and Real Sociedad, who they beat 2-1 on Sunday night to return to the top of the table.
Real Madrid will travel to Atletico Madrid for the Madrid Derby this weekend, but their current focus is on the Champions League, where they are looking to get off to a perfect start in a group that also includes Portugal's Braga and Italian champions Napoli.
The "Whites" have won the Europa League 14 times, making them the absolute dominant force in the history of the competition, with their last success coming in the 2021-22 season. Real Madrid reached the semi-finals of the competition last season, but lost to Manchester City, and they are expected to go deep into the competition again this season.
Meanwhile, Union Berlin finished fourth in the Bundesliga last season with 62 points, and they advanced directly to the group stage of the Champions League from 34 matches. Union Berlin competed in the Europa Conference league in 2021-22 but failed to make it past the group stage, although they reached the round of 16 in the Europa League in 2022-23. United Berlin will now take a step forward in European soccer's biggest cup competition, where they will enter the tournament after facing two frustrating domestic matches at the Bernabeu.
Indeed, Urs Fischer's side have lost two consecutive Bundesliga games to RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg, which comes after a run of three consecutive victories in all competitions, including their first two in the league, and a total of six points puts them eighth in the table. United Berlin are an unknown quantity in this competition, which could help them on Wednesday night, but their home form in the group stage could determine whether they have a real chance of making it to the knockout stages of this season's competition.
Real Madrid recovered one of their injured players as Sebales has overcome a muscle problem after making his first matchday squad of the season. Mendy could be back for this game, but the Whites will once again continue to be without key players Cuerdois, Militão, and Vinicius due to injuries. Carvajal is also out due to a muscle problem he suffered in training. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Bellingham will make his first Champions League appearance in a Real Madrid shirt, the 20-year-old has been in fine form this season, having scored five goals. United Berlin, will be without the services of Rani Khedira, Andras Schafer and Laurenz Dehl for the game in the Spanish capital.
SCORE PREDICTION: Real Madrid 3-1 Union Berlin This game has the potential to be very exciting as Union Berlin will be hitting their mark on Wednesday night. We're rooting for the visitors to score, but we're also confident that Real Madrid's vast experience in the game will help them take all three points in the Spanish capital.
