Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is set play the full game against former club Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Wednesday despite only just returning to action after injury.
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The two sides shared the spoils in the first group game, while Madrid won the second by a 4-0 scoreline.
“I wanted to draw Sporting again, because I think they have a good team, they have a good coach, and it will be another special moment in my life”. I’ve played against Sporting before in the Champions League, against Benfica too, and against Porto.
“It’s a great challenge and I think at Real we have a chance to win it again”, he added. De Carvalho said that it was a mistake for Sporting to sell Ronaldo when they did and recalls the time of Ronaldo’s breakthrough in August 2003. Polish champion Legia, which came through the qualifiers, is appearing in the competition for the first time since 1995/96, when it reached the quarter-finals.
Real Madrid will be favourites to win the game which they go into as the leaders of the Spanish Liga with three wins from as many matches and high on confidence, reports Xinhua. We believe in the way we play and in what the team is capable of. “It’s going to be handsome”.
Real Madrid are playing in the Champions League for the 20th consecutive season, the longest current run.
Real Madrid would become the first UEFA Champions League victor to repeat as trophy-winners since the European Cup became the Champions League in 1992.
Despite the tough oppositions they are stacked against, coach Jorge Jesus wants his team to provide problems for Real Madrid.
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“With Zidane, this Real Madrid team is stronger”.
In their last Champions League appearance in 2014/15, they failed to get past the group stages. Spanish midfielder Isco will miss out on the game owing to an ankle injury. Los Blancos should control the midfield and force Sporting to defend most of the time.
The Champions league fixture will be telecasted on the Star Sports Network in India and can also be streamed online on Hotstar.
Sporting have a poor record in Spain and haven’t won in any of their 10 visits to the country (D3, L7).
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There is no question regarding the outcome of the match considering the huge amount of fire power in the Madrid side. Ronaldo’s boyhood club turn up at the Santiago Bernabeu in good shape after a 3-0 win over Moreirense at the weekend maintained their flawless start to the Portuguese season.
