All the pressure on Real
Real Madrid and Inter Milan will meet for a crunch Champions League fixture at the San Siro tonight and both sides will be desperate for a win as they stand on the verge of an embarrassing exit.
Group B might reflect reality more accurately if the standings were reversed, but as things Real Madrid and Inter Milan occupy the last two spots in the group. Borussia Mochengladbach are on top with five points and Shakhtar Donetsk in second with four, equal with Real but ahead on goal difference. Inter, who are winless after three games, have two points and are languishing in fourth.
Zinedine Zidane's plight -- which was exemplified by a loss to a Shakhtar side missing 13 senior players due to Covid-19 -- has been exacerbated by the absence of six players, but Casemiro has recovered and is expected to play a role.
Inter, meanwhile, will be without Marcelo Brozovic, Aleksandar Kolarov and Daniele Padelli -- all afflicted by COVID-19 -- but will welcome back the dynamic Stefano Sensi. However, they will not be under the same kind of pressure as Los Blancos simply because Inter have not progressed from the group stages of the Champions League since 2011-12. Their best result in Europe since was last season's run to the UEFA Europa League final, where they were beaten by Sevilla.
That ticket to Europa was provided by Antonio Conte's men finishing third in their group in the Champions League last season, behind Dortmund and Barcelona.
On the other hand, Real Madrid have never failed to reach the last 16. Real will be hoping that Eden Hazard can conjure some magic for them, while Inter's hopes will bank squarely on the performance of Romelu Lukaku, the fourth deadliest striker in 2020 with 29 goals. Elsewhere, a tough test awaits Liverpool against last season's semifinalists, Atalanta, as Jurgen Klopp finds himself without a large number of first-choice players but the positive news is the return of Mohamed Salah, who recovered from Covid-19 and can join a formidable attack with in-form Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
The task should be simpler for reigning champions Bayern Munich, who will aim to continue re-writing the history books by extending their record run of consecutive Champions League wins to 15 against RB Salzburg. The Bavarians have been perfect with three wins out of three.
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