Real Madrid will attempt to transfer their strong domestic form into the Champions League when they welcome Club Brugge to the Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
Los Blancos are currently top of La Liga following Saturday's goalless draw at Atletico Madrid, but Zinedine Zidane's side suffered a 3-0 loss at Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League opener.
Match preview
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Saturday's Madrid derby at the Wanda Metropolitano will not live too long in the memory, but a point was enough for Madrid to move back to the top of the table. Since losing 3-0 in Paris earlier this month, Zidane's side have collected seven points from nine available in the league.
Los Blancos were second best by some distance against PSG in their Group A opener, but it would still be a huge surprise if they did not make it through a section which also includes Galatasaray.
It will actually be the first meeting between Madrid and Brugge since the 1976-77 European Champions Clubs' Cup - the Belgian side recording a 2-0 aggregate victory that season to advance to the next round.
The Spanish giants have actually lost three of their last four Champions League matches - including a 4-1 home defeat to Ajax in last season's competition. CSKA Moscow also won 3-0 at the Bernabeu in the group stages of the 2018-19 campaign, which proved to be incredibly disappointing for the holders.
Madrid have still only lost eight of their last 42 European matches, though, and have won their last four matches at home to Belgian clubs. There are perhaps teams better equipped to challenge for the trophy this season, but it is difficult to write off the capital giants due to their incredible history in the competition.
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Huge underdogs heading into Tuesday's clash, Brugge opened their Champions League group campaign with a goalless draw at home to Galatasaray on September 18. It is a big ask to expect the Belgian side to qualify from this section, but a strong result at the Bernabeu would leave the fans dreaming of progression.
Blauw-Zwart, who are 15-time winners of the Belgian First Division, are currently top of their domestic table having won six and drawn two of their eight league fixtures at the start of the 2019-20 campaign.
Brugge remain the only Belgian team to have reached a European Cup final having lost to Liverpool in 1978. This is their seventh Champions League group campaign, although they have never progressed to the knockout round of Europe's premier competition.
Last season, Philippe Clement's side finished third in their section behind Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid before moving into the Europa League, where they lost to Red Bull Salzburg in the round of 32.
The strength of Group A means that third would represent another impressive European campaign for Brugge, who have only won three of their last 19 fixtures in the Champions League proper - suffering 11 defeats in the process.
Real Madrid form: DWLWWD
Club Brugge form: DWDWWW
Team News
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Madrid currently have an issue at left-back with Ferland Mendy and Marcelo both missing out against Atletico - the former is also out of this game, although the latter has a chance of being fit following a neck complaint.
Nacho is once again on standby to play on the left, though, and there could also be a spot in midfield for Luka Modric, who made his return from injury as a second-half substitute against Atletico.
It would not be a surprise to see Zidane shuffle his pack at the Bernabeu, meaning that the likes of Vinicius Junior and Lucas Vazquez could be in line for starts after a tough 90 minutes at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Eden Hazard is yet to ignite in the early stages of his Madrid career, but the Belgium international could be given another start on Tuesday with Gareth Bale the forward player likeliest to drop out.
As for Brugge, defender Federico Ricca has not played since the draw with Galatasaray but was on the bench for the clash with Mechelen at the weekend, suggesting that he could return to the XI for this one.
Eder Balanta is a doubt with a hamstring problem, though, with the 26-year-old unlikely to be available.
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet will start between the sticks, while Hans Vanaken, who has three Champions League goals to his name this season, is also likely to feature.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Nacho; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Vinicius, Benzema, Hazard
Club Brugge possible starting lineup: Mignolet; Deli, Mitrovic, Mata; Ricca, Rits, Vanaken, Vormer, Diatta; Dennis, Okereke
We say: Real Madrid 2-0 Club Brugge
Madrid will be desperate to return to winning ways after losing to PSG in their first group match earlier this month, and we expect Zidane's side to have too much for Brugge at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
Matt Law
