UEFA Champions League 2018/19: Real Madrid v AS Roma

UEFA Champions League 2018/19: Real Madrid v AS Roma - Match Preview

Real Madrid starts the defense of their Champions League title, a trophy they've won a record 13 times, with a home match against AS Roma. Los Blancos can be perceived to be weaker than the all-conquering team that ruled Europe for the past three years.

Shortly after winning their third Champions League title on the trot iconic manager Zinedine Zidane stepped down and the undisputed king of the UCL Cristiano Ronaldo joining Juventus over the summer. A chink in their armor of supremacy in Europe is surely present as can be read from the fact that they lost the UEFA Supercup crown to fierce rivals.

Putting that debut loss behind them Julen Lopetegui's white army has started off positively in La Liga winning 3, drawing 1 and gathering 10 points in the progress. Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema have struck top form early on this season and will be looking to extend their exploits into the Champions League tonight.

Roma had one of their best ever run in the Champions League last time around reaching the semi-finals overcoming strong favorites Barcelona in the quarterfinals. Their dramatic comeback at home overturning a 4-1 deficit against Barcelona was one of the fairytale stories of last season.

All that seems a distant time ago as they have had an abysmal start to their Serie A campaign winning only one of their opening four matches.

Real Madrid v AS Roma: Prediction

Both teams have a history of playing out high scoring matches. It looks to be a mouthwatering tie at the Santiago Bernabéu. But you have to a fool to bet against Real Madrid in a Champions League tie. My prediction is that Madrid are going to do what they do best, run havoc in the Champions League.

Real Madrid 4-1 AS Roma (Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema to get a brace apiece)

Real Madrid v AS Roma: Team News

Both teams do not have any major injury worries ahead of their Champions League opener. Real Madrid is still without Jesus Vallejo. Roma will be without Javier Pastore, who picked up an injury over the weekend. And they are without Ante Coric. No suspensions for this match for either side.
But it is interesting to note the Julen Lopetegui has fielded a different XI In all his 5 matches as Real Madrid manager. So it will be a question of who will be given a nod and who will be shown the bench. For Roma, the starting XI looks to be pretty straightforward.

Real Madrid v AS Roma: Predicted XI
Real Madrid: Courtois, Marcelo, Ramos, Varane, Carvajal; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Asensio, Benzema, Bale

Roma: Olsen; Florenzi, Manolas, Juan Jesus, Kolarov; Pellegrini, N'Zonzi, Cristante; Under, Dzeko, El Shaarawy

Real Madrid v AS Roma: Match Details

Date : 20/09/18

Time : 12.30 a.m (IST)

Venue : Santiago Bernabéu

Comments

Record 4-time Premier League Golden Glove winner Joe Hart to sign for Europa League team

Europa bound Burnley has signed England international Joe Hart on 3.5 million pound deal from reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on a 2-year deal.With Nick Pope getting injured in the first leg of Europa league qualifiers against Aberdeen and Tom Heaton yet to achieve full fitness the Clarets were always likely to add another shot stopper to their midst. Source: Getty Images The Shrewsbury born shot stopper has been under fire for the last 2 seasons with Guardiola opting to send out the Englishman on loan rather than keeping him in the fold for the last two years. Joe Hart ends his 12-year journey with the Manchester club after helping City win 2 Premier League titles and a FA Cup while amassing 348 appearances for the Cityzens.

10 leading goalscorers in the history of bundesliga: 5-10

Torjägerkanone Since its inception in 1963, Bundesliga has been one of the most-watched and followed leagues in the world. Despite being dominated by Bayern Munich for decades, the German league has always had a fairytale story down the years. Currently, Bundesliga is the most entertaining league in the world with an average of just under three goals per match. Here we take a look at the top 10 goalscorers in the Bundesliga. 10. Klaus Allofs - 177 goals One of the best players in the history of Fortuna Dusseldorf One of Fortuna Dusseldorf's greatest ever, Klaus Allofs started his professional career with his hometown club of Fortuna Dusseldorf in 1975. Playing during one of the most successful eras of the club, Allofs helped Fortuna to two DFB Pokal trophies as well as to a runners-up title in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup before joining FC Cologne in 1981. Klaus continued his goalscoring touch with Cologne as he became the first player in the history of Bundesliga t...

Wunderteam: One of the greatest team in football history

Hugo Meisl and his Wunderteam Football has not always been kind to some of the legendary International teams. The free-flowing Brazilian side of 1982, the Total Football inspired Dutch side of 1974, and the Magnificient Hungarian side fo 1954 are some of the prime examples. All these teams have revolutionized football in many ways and have mesmerized the fans and critics alike. Unlike the names mentioned above who have made their presence felt in modern football, the Austrian side of the 1934 World Cup remains relatively unknown. The early 1930s saw Austria emerging as a powerhouse in European football. Inspired by the ideas of legendary English coach Jimmy Hogan and under the watchful gaze of Hugo Meisl, Austria developed one of the first super-teams in the history of the sport. At the focal point of the Austrian team was the 'Mozart of Football' himself, Matthias Sindelar. Playing Style Hugo Meisl structured his 'Wunderteam' based on the technic...

Atletico Madrid squad for the 2018 International Champions Cup

Source: Marca Reigning Europa League winners Atletico Madrid has announced their squad for the upcoming International Champions Cup fixtures to be held in Singapore. Diego Simeone has reinforced his side with new signings Gelson Martins, Nehuen Perez, Thomas Lemar and Rodrigo while club legends Gabi and Fernando Torres along with Diego Jota have left the club Atletico Madrid Squad Goalkeepers Jan Oblak, Antonio Adan, Alex dos Santos Defenders Juanfran Torres, Aitor Punal, Andres Solano, Francisco Montero, Alberto Rodriguez Tachi, Carlos Isaac Midfielders Rodrigo Hernandez, Thomas Partey, Vitolo, Roberto Olabe, Toni Moya, Oscar Garcia Quintela, Mikel Carro, Joaquin Munoz, Victor Mollejo Forwards Angel Correa, Kevin Gameiro, Luciano Vietto, Borja Garces

Top 26 leading goal scorers in First Division English football : 22- 17

The next set of players in the list contains two of whom have played in the Premier League. Here is the next set of players. 21. Wayne Rooney - 208 goals White Pele Arguably the most recognisable names on this list, Wayne Rooney burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old. The Merseyside born lad made his league debut in 2002 for boyhood club Everton and scored an impressive 15 goals in two seasons before completing, then world-record fee for a teenager, a move to Manchester United. At the Theatre of Dreams, Rooney formed an impressive partnership with a certain Cristiano Ronaldo as the Red Devils dominated the late 2000s. Rooney took on the goalscoring responsibilities once his Portuguese counterpart left for Real Madrid in 2009. The forward went onto spent eight more seasons at the Theatre of Dreams as he became the Red Devils all-time leading scorer. Wayne Rooney ended his stay Manchester in 2017 to return back to his boyhood club Everton after winning five Premier...

FOOTY BLAZE

Search This Blog