Real Madrid will play their first game of the Champions League this season on Tuesday.
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The UEFA Champions League group stage begins with a clash of two historic European giants as Real Madrid welcome French side Olympique Marseille to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday, September 16, for a 3pm ET kick-off.
The two teams will come face to face for the first time since 2009, when Real Madrid twice beat Marseille in the group stages with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring two goals in each of the two meetings between the teams.
They now meet with Real Madrid top of the Spanish La Liga with four wins from four games since the start of the season, while Marseille sit seventh in the French Ligue Un with two wins and two draws from their four fixtures.
Both teams enjoyed good results in the weekend prior to this game, as Marseille beat Lorient 4-0 at home, while Real Madrid had to work hard to secure a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad in San Sebastián, playing for over 60 minutes with 10 men after a red card to Dean Huijsen.
Real Madrid team news vs. Olympique Marseille
There is positive news for Real Madrid in the build-up to this game as there were two surprise inclusions in the squad list: Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga. Neither has featured yet this season after undergoing shoulder surgery and suffering an ankle injury in preseason, and they could get their first minutes off the bench at the Bernabéu on Tuesday night.
That adds depth to a midfield which is looking thin on options. Notably, youngster Thiago Pitarch has not been included here, suggesting that Bellingham and Camavinga could be fit enough to play some part if required.
In defence, there are absences as Antonio Rüdiger was ruled out for three months with a strained hamstring after training on Friday. His absence means that Xabi Alonso has limited options in the backline, with Éder Militão likely to accompany Dean Huijsen as he did on Saturday for the win over Real Sociedad.
Also defensively, Ferland Mendy remains sidelined as the Frenchman continues to be sidelined with a long-term injury which has kept him out of action for almost five months.
In attack, there are also absences as Endrick Felipe continues to work to recover from a hamstring injury suffered late last season. He is not expected back until later this month at the earliest.
Real Madrid expected lineup vs. Olympique Marseille
Real Madrid’s expected lineup vs. Olympique Marseille: Thibaut Courtois; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Éder Militão, Dean Huijsen, Álvaro Carreras; Aurélien Tchouameni, Fede Valverde; Franco Mastantuono, Arda Güler, Vinícius Júnior; Kylian Mbappé.
The only real uncertainty in the Real Madrid lineup is in the right wing position, where three players continue to vie for the role. Franco Mastantuono looks to be best positioned for this game, while Rodrygo Goes and Brahim Díaz are also in contention.
There will also be other changes from Saturday’s league fixture. That includes the continued rotation at right-back, where Trent Alexander-Arnold will come back into the team for Dani Carvajal, making his Champions League debut for the club. The pair have rotated through the opening fixtures of the campaign and look set to continue to do so in the weeks ahead.
Influential midfielder Fede Valverde will also come back into the lineup after being rested at the weekend, having only returned from international duty in South America late in the week. He will come in for Dani Ceballos in the middle of the field.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/samleveridge/2025/09/16/real-madrid-expected-lineup-vs-olympique-marseille-champions-league/
