Overview
Real Madrid began their journey to conquer their 16th Champions League trophy by hosting Marseille at Santiago Bernabeu.
This is also a reunion after 15 years, since the 2009 2010 season when Cristiano Ronaldo scored a double in both matches, helping Los Blancos win all matches against the French representative.
After the defeat in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, Real Madrid quickly regained their spirit to make a perfect start to the first La Liga campaign under coach Xabi Alonso.
Los Blancos have maintained a stable performance with victories over Osasuna, Real Oviedo and Mallorca, before overcoming a difficult challenge at Real Sociedad last weekend. Real Madrid had to play for more than an hour with one less player after Dean Huijsen's controversial red card but could still beat Real Sociedad.
Kylian Mbappe and Arda Guler continued to shine, while the Royal team showed their resilience to preserve the winning streak. They became the only club to achieve a 100% win in La Liga this season.
With a high spirit, Real Madrid will now focus all their attention on the Champions League, where they disappointed in the group stage last season.
Facing Marseille, Los Blancos aim to extend their winning streak after 4 previous encounters, scoring at least 3 goals in 3/4 matches.
Marseille returned to the Champions League group stage for the first time since the 2022-2023 season, after finishing as Ligue 1 runners-up last season. Their ambition is not only to participate, but to qualify for the knockout round for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
Under the leadership of coach Roberto De Zerbi, the port city team started Ligue 1 quite erratically. They have won all 2 home matches but have lost their first 2 away matches.
After a narrow defeat to Rennes and a loss to Lyon, Marseille came back strongly with a 4-0 victory over Lorient, when new recruits Mason Greenwood, Benjamin Pavard, Angel Gomes and Nayef Aguerd scored together.
This result helped them temporarily climb to sixth place in the Ligue 1 rankings and bring confidence before the trip to Bernabeu.
However, history is not on Marseille's side. The French representatives have never won on Real Madrid's field in 15 encounters in the Champions League/European Cup (4 draws, 11 losses).
Therefore, if De Zerbi and his students can break the curse in the opening match of the group stage this season, it will be a historic milestone for the club.
Personnel situation
Los Blancos received bad news when center back Antonio Rudiger suffered a muscle injury and had to miss about 2 months. He joined the absentee list alongside Jude Bellingham, Ferland Mendy and young talent Endrick. Eduardo Camavinga's ability to play is also uncertain.
Xabi Alonso often rotates in the early stages of the season, so Federico Valverde and young talent Franco Mastantuono will likely be given the opportunity to return to the squad. On the right wing, Trent Alexander-Arnold could return and continue to share the position with Dani Carvajal.
On the other side of the front line, Roberto De Zerbi did not register Ruben Blanco and Pol Lirola in the Champions League. Meanwhile, striker Amine Gouiri is a big question mark after being injured in the match against Lorient.
Defender Egan-Riley is out of suspension, but will find it difficult to compete for a starting spot with Benjamin Pavard and Nayef Aguerd. In addition, goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and veteran Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are also waiting for a chance to return to the starting lineup after being on the bench last weekend.
Expected lineup:
Real Madrid: Courtois, Alexander-Arnold, Militao, Huijsen, Carreras, Valverde, Tchouameni, Mastantuono, Guler, Vinicius, Mbappe.
Marseille: Rulli, Murillo, Pavard, Aguerd, Medina, Gomes, Kondogbia, Greenwood, Nadir, Weah, Aubameyang.
The match between Real Madrid and Marseille takes place at 2:00 am on September 17 (Vietnam time).
