Legia v Real Madrid: line-ups, where to watch, form guide
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Article summary
Real Madrid could book a round of 16 place with victory at Legia Warszawa, although the Polish champions have been showing signs of improvement in recent games.
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Article body
- Group F's bottom side Legia take on second-placed Real Madrid in Warsaw
- Madrid are 26 matches unbeaten in all competitions
- If Legia lose they cannot finish in top two; Madrid may go through with win
- Merengues have scored 24 goals in their last six games
- Zidane's 100th match as coach (for Madrid and their Castilla B team)
- Madrid won 5-1 when these teams met in Spain a fortnight ago
Possible line-ups
Legia: Malarz; Bereszyński, Pazdan, Rzeźniczak, Hloušek; Radović, Jodłowiec, Moulin, Odjidja, Guilherme; Nikolić
Out: none
Misses next match if booked: Bereszyński, Guilherme
Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Nacho, Varane, Danilo; Kroos, Kovacić, Isco, Bale, Ronaldo; Morata.
Out: Ramos (knee), Pepe (muscle problems), Modrić (knee), Casemiro (leg), Marcelo (flu), James (calf)
Where to watch
Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here
Jacek Magiera, Legia coach
Have we analysed their game? Of course, but we did not show our players their matches against giants like Bayern as that is not our level. Instead we showed them bits from Real's games against smaller Spanish teams – that was more useful for us.
We tried to focus on one of their deadliest weapons: counterattacks. In this respect, they are absolutely world-class and we will try to find a way to stop them on the break.
Zinédine Zidane, Real Madrid coach
It will be my 100th match as a coach and I really like it. I am satisfied with what I am doing. I feel great at this club and would like to continue working here as long as possible. What would I like to improve? Everything [smiles].
Legia are really dangerous opponents. Even if Legia have been unlucky with results, they proved they can be dangerous – as they showed at the Bernabéu. We respect them. They are collectively strong.
It's true that we concede goals every game, but it isn't my biggest concern. In football you cannot control everything, there is always another team on the field who can score.
Weekend results
Korona 2-4 Legia (Palanca 8p, Grzelak 12; Guilherme 29, Nikolić 57, Prijovic 61 83)
Aleksandar Prijovic's first league double for Legia helped them achieve back-to-back Ekstraklasa wins for the first time since May. Miguel Palanca's 49th-minute red card proved pivotal as Legia turned the game around, Magiera's men adding a fourth despite having Michał Pazdan dismissed later in the second half.
Alavés 1-4 Real Madrid (Deyverson 7; Ronaldo 17p 33 88, Morata 84)
Having picked up six in all competitions last season, Cristiano Ronaldo got his first club hat-trick of 2016/17 as Madrid recovered from an early setback. Álvaro Morata's strike was his fifth in his last four appearances.
Form guide (all competitions, most recent first)
Legia: WWLLWL
Real Madrid: WWWWWL
Reporter's view: Piotr Koźmiński (@UEFAComPiotrK)
There were positives for Legia despite the 5-1 loss in Madrid, which brought their first goal of this Group F campaign from an improved performance. The Polish champions have since won two league matches in a row, beating Lech Poznań 2-1 and Korona Kielce 4-2, climbing to sixth in the table after a poor start to the season. It also injected some confidence, and some players say they will try to take a point off Madrid; perhaps mission impossible part two, but better showings in recent weeks have the fans dreaming.
Did you know?
Magiera, then a 25-year-old midfielder, was sent off the last time Legia hosted Spanish opposition. Find out more in our in-depth match background.