Defending champions Real Madrid welcome RB Salzburg to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday as they look to ensure their progression in the knockout stages.
It has been a roller coaster campaign for Carlo Ancelotti’s side in this season of the Champions League. They have won three and lost three of the six matches they have played so far.
The La Liga club lost to AC Milan and Liverpool in back to back fixtures in November but they recovered to beat Atalanta 3-2 in December.
It has been a campaign to forget for RB Salzburg who have lost five of the six matches they have played so far with their solitary win coming at Feyenoord.
The chances of the Austrian club qualifying for the next round and they will need a performance of the ages to upset Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Sporting News looks at the key details ahead of this game, including how to watch the match, kickoff times and the latest lineup news.
Real Madrid vs. RB Salzburg live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this Champions League match in the U.S.:
This game is not available for live TV broadcast in English language in United States. Streaming options are available on Paramount+, which offers a FREE trial for new subscribers.
What time does Real Madrid vs. RB Salzburg kick off?
This Champions League clash takes place at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain and kicks off on Wednesday, January 22 at 09:00 p.m. local time.
Here’s how that time translates across the U.S.:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| Eastern Time | Wed, Jan. 22 | 3:00 p.m. |
| Central Time | Wed, Jan. 22 | 2:00 p.m. |
| Mountain Time | Wed, Jan. 22 | 1:00 p.m. |
| Pacific Time | Wed, Jan. 22 | 12:00 p.m. |
Real Madrid vs. RB Salzburg lineups, team news
Carlo Ancelotti will continue to be without the services of three key players in Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal and Edouardo Camavinga.
Vinicius Junior‘s three-match suspension from La Liga means the Brazilian forward will be relatively fresher than his teammates and will lead the attack alongside Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo.
Ancelotti has moved Fede Valverde to right-back for this game and installed Dani Ceballos into midfield, leaving Aurelien Tchouameni on the bench.
Real Madrid starting XI (4-3-3, right to left): Courtois (GK) — Valverde, Asencio, Rudiger, Mendy — Bellingham, Tchouameni, Ceballos — Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius.
Injured: Eder, Carvajal, Camavinga
RB Salzburg will be without top scorer Karim Konate who is out with an ACL injury. Midfielder Maurits Kjaergaard is also unavailable due to an ankle injury.
RB Salzburg predicted XI (4-2-3-1 right to left): Schlager (GK) — Terzic, Baidoo, Piatkowski, Dedic — Gourna-Douath, Bidstrup — Yeo, Gloukh, Nene — Ratkov.
Injured: Konate, Kjaergaard
Real Madrid vs. RB Salzburg prediction
Real Madrid have to beat RB Salzburg to keep their hopes of finishing in the top eight alive. In RB Salzburg, they are up against the perfect team to win and win big.
RB Salzburg are five points adrift of the playoff spots and badly need a win in Madrid to keep their slim hopes alive. However, that is unlikely to happen against the star power of Real Madrid.
Prediction: Real Madrid 4-0 RB Salzburg
Champions League fixture schedule this week
All times ET
Tuesday, January 21
- AS Monaco (12:45 p.m.)
- Atalanta vs. Sturm Graz (12:45 p.m.)
- Atletico Madrid vs. Bayer Leverkusen (3:00 p.m.)
- Benfica vs. Barcelona (3:00 p.m.)
- Bologna vs. Borussia Dortmund (3:00 p.m.)
- Club Brugge vs. Juventus (3:00 p.m.)
- Crvena Zvezda vs. PSV Eindhoven (3:00 p.m.)
- Liverpool vs. Lille (3:00 p.m.)
- Slovan Bratislava vs. Vfb Stuttgart (3:00 p.m.)
Wednesday, January 22
- RB Leipzig vs. Sporting CP (12:45 p.m.)
- Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Brest (12:45 p.m.)
- AC Milan vs. Girona (3:00 p.m.)
- Arsenal vs. Dinamo Zagreb (3:00 p.m.)
- Celtic vs. Young Boys (3:00 p.m.)
- Feyenoord vs. Bayern Munich (3:00 p.m.)
- PSG vs. Manchester City (3:00 p.m.)
- Real Madrid vs. RB Salzburg (3:00 p.m.)
- Sparta Prague vs. Inter Milan (3:00 p.m.)
