Overview
In Xabi Alonso's last match in the Champions League as head coach of Real Madrid, Manchester City won 2-1 right at the Etihad, thereby following in Liverpool's footsteps, causing the Spanish giant to suffer the second defeat in the last 3 matches in the European arena.
After the painful 0-1 fall against Liverpool, Real Madrid - the team that dominated the Champions League for many years - is still not sure to win a ticket to the round of 16 despite winning all three opening matches.
With 12 points after 6 matches, Los Blancos are currently ranked seventh in the 36-team group stage standings - a position enough to go straight to the knockout round. However, in the context of a season immersed in volatility and instability, a play-off spot seems to reflect the chaos that is engulfing the Spanish capital.
However, coach Alvaro Arbeloa has somewhat brought peace after the shock of being eliminated from the Copa del Rey against Albacete. Last weekend, Real Madrid won convincingly 2-0 against Levante in La Liga, thereby narrowing the gap with the leading team Barcelona to only one point.
The victory against Levante also marked Real Madrid's third consecutive victory at the Bernabeu. More notably, the home team launched up to 26 shots - the third highest number for a Real Madrid coach in his La Liga debut since the 2003-2004 season.
In the opposite direction, although only 3 points behind Real Madrid in the Champions League table, Monaco is 12 places behind, as the French representative is struggling in the battle to avoid being eliminated early.
In fact, coach Sebastien Pocognoli's team even has fewer defeats than Real Madrid in European competitions this season. Except for the defeat in the opening match against Club Brugge, Monaco is unbeaten in the last 5 Champions League matches.
Recently, they defeated Galatasaray with a score of 1-0 thanks to Folarin Balogun's goal, thereby rising to 19th place.
However, Monaco's road ahead is still full of thorns. A difficult confrontation with Juventus is waiting, in the context of Pocognoli's team's instability in all competitions, as they have won 3 and lost 3 in the last 6 matches.
One of those defeats came right in the most recent match, when Monaco unexpectedly lost 1-3 at home to Lorient in Ligue 1. However, the history of confrontations in the Champions League still gave them certain faith. In the 2003-2004 season, Monaco eliminated Real Madrid in the quarterfinals thanks to the away goals rule.
Personnel situation
The defeat to Man City not only made Real Madrid face difficulties in terms of ranking, but also left significant consequences in terms of force. Left-back Alvaro Carreras received his third yellow card in the group stage and will be absent in the next match due to suspension.
The young player who used to play for Manchester United joined Real Madrid's injury list with Eder Militao (strap) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (muscle). Meanwhile, Rodrygo (uncomfortable), Ferland Mendy (muscle), Antonio Rudiger (knee) and goalkeeper Andriy Lunin (uncomfortable) still need to be carefully assessed before the ball rolls.
On Monaco's side, the away team did not have any players suspended in the away match to the Bernabeu. However, Folarin Balogun had to leave the field due to injury in the defeat to Lorient in Ligue 1, leaving the possibility of the former Arsenal striker playing in the mid-week match still open.
Expected lineup:
Real Madrid: Courtois, Valverde, Asencio, Huijsen, Garcia, Camavinga, Tchouameni, Bellingham, Guler, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr.
Kohn, Vanderson, Kehrer, Dier, Henrique, Akliouche, Teze, Zakaria, Golovin, Balogun, Biereth.
The match between Real Madrid and Monaco takes place at 3:00 AM on January 21 (Vietnam time).
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