Lars Baron
Injuries are hampering Real Madrid, but their fans will still expect a home win over Borussia Dortmund.
Real Madrid's injury problems created serious holes in their side when they traveled to the Westfalenstadion during the last Champions League matchday, as they fell to Borussia Dortmund. Those same problems persist, putting Jose Mourinho under pressure to mastermind a plan to mask his team's weaknesses and get a result against der BVB.
Raphael Varane has shown flashes of brilliance in his appearances at Madrid, but the 19-year-old was consistently out of position against Dortmund when these two teams last met. He's going to start in the central of defense again, and his team will need him to perform much better.
Real Madrid injuries and suspensions
Out: Fabio Coentrao, Sami Khedira, Marcelo, Karim Benzema.
Borussia Dortmund injuries and suspensions
Out: Jakub Blaszczykowski. In doubt: Sebastian Kehl
Madrid are still without two of their fullbacks, but could field a reasonable back four without Varane if they wanted to. It will be interesting to see who gets left on the bench by Mourinho. Xabi Alonso returns after serving a La Liga suspension this weekend, but is without his partner Khedira, and Mourinho has numerous solid, but far from idea options in the middle. Kehl broke his nose over the weekend and has been training with a mask on, while Kuba remains sidelined.
Match date/time: Tuesday, 8:45 p.m. local, 2:45 p.m. ET
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
TV: FOX Soccer Plus (U.S.), Sky Sports 4 (U.K.), Sportsnet World (Canada), TVE (Spain)
Online: FOX Soccer 2 Go (U.S.)
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