Real Madrid will aim to bounce back from their devastating defeat at the hands of Barcelona in El Clasico in their Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Rafael Benitez's men secured their place in the knockout stage of the competition, but can confirm their status as winners of Group A with a victory in Ukraine.

Shakhtar Donetsk

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Donetsk ended their search for a win in the competition by recording a 4-0 hammering of Malmo in their last match to lift them off the bottom of the table.

Aleksandr Gladkiy, Dario Srna, Eduardo and Alex Teixeira all got on the scoresheet to give the Ukrainian side a glimmer of hope of qualifying for the knockout stage, although they will have to record victories in their final two matches to achieve the feat.

Shakhtar had not scored in their opening three matches of the group stage, but displayed a clinical edge in the final third that was missing in their loss to Malmo in the away match.

Meanwhile, Donetsk also showed resilience at the back for the first time by keeping a clean sheet after shipping eight goals in their opening three matches, four of which came in their 4-0 defeat to Real at the Bernabeu.

Mircea Lucescu's men have been in prime form since their defeat to Malmo in October, winning five straight matches in all competitions.

The club are currently top of the Ukrainian Premier League and have only lost one of their last eight fixtures at the Arena Lviv, which came against Paris Saint-Germain in September.

Lucescu's side have the ability to cause problems, but may be running into Madrid at the worst possible time as a backlash could be on the cards following their thrashing against Barcelona.

Recent form: DWLLLW
Recent form (all competitions): LWWWWW

Real Madrid

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Real have entered crisis mode as a result of their crushing defeat at the hands of their bitter rivals in front of their home crowd at the Bernabeu on Saturday, although president Florentino Perez has thrown his support behind Benitez.

Madrid were taken apart over the course of the match as Luis Suarez netted a brace, while Neymar and Andres Iniesta also got on the scoresheet in a demoralising defeat for the club.

The loss was their second in a row in La Liga following their 3-2 defeat to Sevilla before the international break, leaving Benitez under pressure just six months into his reign at the Bernabeu.

The Spaniard had enjoyed an impressive start to his tenure as the club were able to keep pace with Barcelona in the early stages of the season courtesy of a 10-match unbeaten run in La Liga, while their Champions League form was exemplary.

However, the back-to-back defeats have put Benitez under scrutiny as Madrid have fallen six points off the pace in the race for the La Liga title, although the 55-year-old can ease the pressure by securing the club's place as Group A winners in the Champions League with a victory over Shakhtar.

Madrid hammered Lucescu's men 4-0 in their meeting at the Bernabeu and they also recorded a comfortable win in their clash against Malmo. Their toughest test so far in their campaign came in their trip to the Parc des Princes, where Real put in a resolute display to earn a point against Paris Saint-Germain.

In the corresponding fixture at the Bernabeu, Madrid produced a fine performance to beat the French champions 1-0 thanks to a strike from Nacho to seal their place in the knockout stage of the competition.

Although it may take a lot to earn back the respect of the club's supporters following their drubbing against Barca, Benitez can point to his record in the Champions League as a sign of his managerial qualities.

However, Shahktar scored four goals in their last match against Malmo at the Arena Lviv, so the clash may prove to be a tricky contest for Madrid to round back into form.

Recent form: WWDW
Recent form (all competitions): DWWWLL

Team News

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Real will be without Sergio Ramos (shoulder) and Marcelo (thigh) for the trip to the Ukraine due to injury. Pepe and Daniel Carvajal are the likely candidates to replace the duo in the starting lineup from the defeat to Barcelona.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have made the trip and will lead the line for Madrid against the Ukrainian outfit, while there is also a place in the squad for Denis Cheryshev, who has struggled for playing time this season.

Isco could come into contention along with Mateo Kovacic, but Benitez may opt to stick with the same attacking lineup to get his team back on track.

Lucescu will be without banned skipper Srna for the clash after he picked up a booking in their win over Malmo, while Oleksandr Kucher also suffered the same fate.

Ivan Ordets and Vyacheslav Shevchuk come into the starting lineup to replace the suspended duo, while Vitali Vitsenets has been ruled out with a knee injury.

Shakhtar possible starting lineup:
Pyatov; Shevchuk, Rakitskiy, Ordets, Azevedo; Fred, Stepanenko; Marlos, Teixeira, Bernard; Gladkiy

Real possible starting lineup:
Navas; Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Danilo; Kroos, Modric; James, Bale, Ronaldo; Benzema

Head To Head

The only meeting between the sides came earlier this season in their clash at the Bernabeu when Madrid romped to a crushing 4-0 win over Lucescu's men.

Karim Benzema opened the scoring in the 30th minute and Ronaldo added a second-half hat-trick, notching his three strikes within 26 minutes, while the visitors ended the match with 10 men when Taras Stepenenko was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

We say: Shakhtar Donetsk 0-3 Real Madrid

Madrid will be seething following the manner of their defeat to Barcelona and will be determined to bounce back to ease the pressure on Benitez.

Donetsk have the firepower to cause Real problems in the final third, but that could come at the risk of leaving themselves open at the back, which may lead to a convincing win for Madrid in the Ukraine.

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