Straightforward Champions League tie for Real Madrid (Preview)

Spanish football powerhouse Real Madrid should make an important step towards the knockout phase of the Champions League when they entertain Poland's Legia Warsaw in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium here on Tuesday.

Legia travel to Madrid as the minnows of Group F after suffering two defeats and conceding eight goals without scoring any in their previous games against Borussia Dortmund and Sporting Club de Portugal and as such Madrid fans will probably be looking forward to an easy night, reports Xinhua.

Madrid's injury crisis remains a concern with first team regulars Casemiro, James Rodriguez, Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos all out, but that wasn't a problem on Saturday when Zinedine Zidane's side ran rampant with a 6-1 win away to Betis in La Liga.

With a difficult Spanish League game at home to Athletic Club Bilbao next weekend, Zidane will make rotate his quad and Nacho Fernandez has a good chance of starting in central defence along with Danilo at right back position.

Marcos Asensio and Alvaro Morata could also both start as Zidane looks to keep their attack fresh, but one player who is unlikely to want to miss out on the chance to score more goals is Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sevilla are the second Spanish side in action on Tuesday and Jorge Sampaoli's men will take heart from their weekend win in Leganes as they travel to face Croatia's Dinamo Zagreb.

They now face the Croatian side knowing a win will put them in the driving seat to qualify from Group H after beating Olympique Lyon and drawing away to Juventus in their opening two group games.

--IANS

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