Real Madrid had a longer layoff than most over the international break, after the Spanish Sports Council allowed them to postpone their fixture against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend. It means when they take on Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek, it will have been over two weeks since Los Blancos kicked a ball competitively.
Maybe the time off will have been good for Madrid. Prior to the international break, they suffered consecutive defeats, falling at the hands of Sheriff Tiraspol in one of the larger upsets in recent Champions League history, before then losing to Espanyol 2-1 in La Liga.
In looking at the matchup against Shakhtar Donetsk, this is the second straight year these two sides have been drawn alongside each other, and Real Madrid will be hoping to have better fortunes than they had last time.
The Ukrainian side won both of their group stage fixtures against Los Meringues in the 2020/21 competition. If Madrid does manage to reverse the result from last season, they’ll have to do it despite a significant injury list.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Real Madrid FYIs
Kick-Off: Tuesday 19th October, 9 PM, Kyiv Olympic Stadium
Real Madrid Starting XI Prediction: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): Real Madrid(WWDLL)
The latest addition to that list is Eden Hazard. The Belgian picked up an injury whilst on international duty and will definitely miss this Champions League clash. There are mixed reports, but some are saying he should be fit to play in El Clasico in Madrid following the UCL fixture.
Gareth Bale remains out for the foreseeable future, but some are putting a mid-November return date for the Welsh superstar. Dani Carvajal and Marcelo will both miss out, and there are major question marks over whether Marco Asensio and Isco can overcome their injuries in time for the Champions League clash.
Eduardo Camavinga will definitely not play, along with center half Eder Militao, who picked up an injury whilst on international duty with Brazil.
In better news, David Alaba looks like he is set to overcome the knock he picked up that threatened to rule him out of this one, which surely must be a relief to the manager, given their laundry list of injuries.
Carlo Ancelotti will be keen to get back to winning ways in this one after two losses on the bounce in all competitions and three without a victory.