Inter to keep Real Madrid bottom of the pool
Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid will pit their collective wits against Antonio Conte's Inter Milan on Tuesday night in the third group fixture of the Champions League. The world giants find themselves inexplicably bottom of the group, having taken just one point from their opening two matches (and that was only rescued deep into injury time). The onus is already on them to get a win at all costs; anything less, especially as they're at home in this one, seriously risks a humiliating early exit becoming a probability... but they'll find that a challenge. Read our preview here:
The garden of Eden
Eden Hazard's goalscoring return to the first team against Huesca at the weekend (a full year since his last strike) was timely for Los Blancos. There has in general been far too much reliance placed on Karim Benzema to come up with the goods ever since Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Juventus a couple of seasons ago. Luka Jović was meant was meant to share that burden, but for several reasons, that has yet to materialise. The Belgian maestro's inclusion gives the trio in attack far less predictability in their movement and approach play, and whilst Benzema will remain a conduit for passing sequences to go through, he won't be the only one. The balance in midfield should be able to cope with their adversaries' engine room reasonably well, which could mean a battle of the full/wing-backs. Achraf Hakimi and Ferland Mendy on Real's left flank will be particularly tasty.
Ivan the versatile
Things haven't been all rosy for I Nerazzurri, either. They too have yet to register a win in the pool, and could be missing talismanic striker Romelu Lukaku for the huge clash. This should mean that the partnership of Ivan Perišić and Lautaro Martínez will lead the line for Conte. The duo represent a very different prospect to the target man; Perišić will drop off the apex of the attack, and look to stretch the hosts' defence both horizontally and vertically. This will pose a problem down the weaker right-hand side of Madrid's backline; Martinez prefers low crosses due to his lack of aerial prowess, and will dribble directly through the centre. Much will also hinge on how the forwards can link up with the midfield behind them - Casemiro will pay very close attention to Christian Eriksen if the latter features. Alternatively, Marcelo Brozović would take up deeper positions than his compatriot, and be more inclined to support the front two from deeper with his passing.
Crunch time for Zidane
Relative domestic bliss will not be a salve for the under-pressure head coach. Whilst fans will doubtlessly be laughing at Barcelona's struggles, that in no way takes any of the pressure off the French legend's back. Failures to best Shakhtar Donetsk and Borussia Mönchengladbach are one thing. A third failure would seriously call into question his viability to remain in post, and the board are more likely to pull the trigger whilst qualification remains within their grasp, than wait until their fate has been sealed. The absence of the prolific Lukaku will hurt the opposition, but not necessarily enough to swing things in their favour. 888sport are offering odds of 4.10 for another frustrating draw, which would leave the teams a minimum of four points off top spot with just three left to play.
