Preview: Real Madrid vs Monaco - prediction, team news, lineups

The Kylian Mbappe derby takes centre stage at the Bernabeu on Tuesday evening, when Real Madrid host Monaco in the league phase of the Champions League.

Los Blancos are gearing up for their first European night under Alvaro Arbeloa's wing, while their Ligue 1 foes are not safe from an early elimination.

Match preview

In what proved to be Xabi Alonso's final Champions League match at the Blancos helm, Manchester City condemned Real Madrid to a 2-1 home defeat, following in Arsenal's footsteps to subject the Spanish giants to their second loss from three games.

Also reeling from a painful 1-0 beating at Alonso's former club Liverpool, Real - who formerly dominated the European scene - are far from guaranteed a ticket to the last 16 of the competition, despite winning their opening three games of the tournament.

Twelve points from a possible 18 is good enough for seventh place in the table - which would suffice for direct entry to the round of 16 - but a playoff venture would be in keeping with the carnage and chaos in the Spanish capital this season.

However, Arbeloa brought the calm after a shock Copa del Rey exit Albacete, overseeing a straightforward 2-0 La Liga win over Levante on Saturday to take Los Blancos to within one point of leaders Barcelona, who meet Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Success over Levante marked Real's third straight triumph at the Bernabeu, and further encouragement can be taken from the 26 shots that the hosts fired, the third-most for a Blancos boss on their La Liga debut since 2003-04.

Only three points separate Real Madrid and Monaco in the 36-team league-phase rankings, but a 12-place chasm is also keeping both teams apart, as Les Monegasques strive to avoid a swift elimination from the tournament.

Sebastien Pocognoli's men actually come into the clash with fewer defeats than Los Blancos - only losing their opener against Club Brugge - since when they have found their continental feet to go unbeaten in each of their last five UCL games.

Monaco most recently took down Galatasaray 1-0 courtesy of a Folarin Balogun strike, which propelled them up to 19th place in the rankings, good enough for an unseeded playoff place at the close of play.

However, another taxing test against Juventus is still to come for Pocognoli's men, who have also been plagued by inconsistency across all formats recently, winning three and losing three of their last six matches.

One of those defeats came as recently as Friday - a shock 3-1 home loss to Lorient in Ligue 1 - but their only previous Champions League clashes with Real Madrid came in 2003-04, when they memorably dumped Los Blancos out of the quarter-finals on away goals.

Real Madrid Champions League form:

Real Madrid form (all competitions):

Monaco Champions League form:

Monaco form (all competitions):

Team News

Real's defeat to Man City was also costly on the disciplinary front, as left-back Alvaro Carreras picked up his third yellow card of the league phase and will miss Tuesday's showdown through suspension.

The former Manchester United youngster joins Eder Militao (hamstring) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (thigh) on Real's absentee list, while Rodrygo (discomfort), Ferland Mendy (calf), Antonio Rudiger (knee) and Andriy Lunin (discomfort) will need once-overs closer to kickoff.

However, ex-Monaco sensation Mbappe recovered from a knee niggle to start and score against Levante, and the Frenchman now aims to build on what is already a career-best total of nine UCL goals for the season.

Monaco have no suspension concerns for the trip to the Bernabeu, but Balogun was a late injury withdrawal in the loss to Lorient on Friday, so the ex-Arsenal man is not guaranteed to be available in midweek.

Balogun's prospective absence would prove devastating for Monaco, as the USA international has scored in his last three Champions League appearances, but Ansu Fati and Mika Biereth are competent alternatives.

Elsewhere on the injury front, Paul Pogba is unlikely to make the cut as a result of a calf problem, while Lukas Hradecky (knee), while Christian Mawissa (hamstring), Takumi Minamino (knee) and Mohammed Salisu (knee) are also in the infirmary.

Senegal duo Krepin Diatta and Lamine Camara will soon return from the Africa Cup of Nations, but there is no chance of either player being fit for Tuesday's clash, which comes just two days after the final against Morocco.

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Valverde, Asencio, Huijsen, Garcia; Camavinga, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Guler, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr

Monaco possible starting lineup:

Kohn; Vanderson, Kehrer, Dier, Henrique; Akliouche, Teze, Zakaria, Golovin; Balogun, Biereth

We say: Real Madrid 3-1 Monaco

Real's triumph over Levante may have papered over the cracks in the eyes of some, but Los Blancos are now coming up against an out-of-sorts Monaco side with depleted defensive numbers.

Even if the visitors can briefly take advantage of the hosts' own rearguard concerns, Arbeloa's firepower should prove too potent as Real strengthen their top-eight credentials.

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