Estadio Santiago Bernabeu is the venue as Real Madrid and Juventus lock horns in a high-stakes UEFA Champions League showdown. Wednesday’s enocunter in the Spanish capital could be Igor Tudor’s last in charge of the Bianconeri.

According to Tuttosport, Tudor is on the precipice of an early-season dismissal after his side extended their dreadful winless streak to six matches on Sunday afternoon. Indeed, Como beat Juventus 2-0 at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia to end their miserable run of five consecutive draws in all competitions.

Therefore, the 47-year-old is feeling the heat ahead of Juventus’ mouth-watering clash against the record-time European champions. Furthermore, a frosty relationship with sporting director Damien Comolli doesn’t help Tudor’s cause, highlighting the importance of beating Madrid against the odds.

However, that could prove easier said than done, especially given Los Blancos’ red-hot form ahead of this encounter. Free-scoring Kylian Mbappe found a late winner to inspire Xabi Alonso’s side to a narrow 1-0 victory at Getafe last night, putting himself on the brink of history.

The 26-year-old Frenchman could match Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of scoring in 12 successive appearances with a goal against Juventus. Meanwhile, the high-flying La Liga giants head into proceedings on the back of three straight wins in all competitions, including a 5-0 rout of Kairat Almaty in the Champions League.

Match Preview

Real Madrid

Before seeing off the Champions League debutants, Real Madrid squeezed past Olympique Marseille at home, Mbappe’s double propelling them to a tight 2-1 triumph. As a result, they are on the brink of starting a new Champions League season on a three-game winning run for the third time in the last four editions.

Los Merengues have every reason for optimism as they maintained a feel-good factor with a hard-fought win at Getafe. Moreover, they’ve been virtually unplayable at the Bernabeu this season, winning all five games in all competitions via an aggregate score of 10-3. However, conviction has sometimes been missing.

Indeed, three of those five triumphs came by a single-goal margin, highlighting the potetential for another evenly balanced contest. There’s more than this out-of-sorts Juventus side could bargain for, as they seek revenge for a gut-wrenching 1-0 defeat in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup quarter-finals.

That victory forms part of Madrid’s impressive run of three wins from their last four competitive meetings with the Bianconeri. Interestingly, that stretch started with a thumping 4-1 victory in the 2017 Champions League final.

Juventus

Despite losing 12 of their 22 previous matches against the Madrid powerhouse in all competitions (W8, D2), Juventus can draw confidence from beating Los Merengues in their last encounter on Spanish soil. However, that fixture dates back to 2018.

Things may get worse before they get better for the Allianz outfit. In addition to having to fight from behind to avoid defeat in their opening two Champions League clashes against Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal, Tudor’s charges have massively struggled on the road this season.

Juventus have only won one away game in 2025/26 (D3, L1), conceding before halftime in their last three such outings. As if that’s not worrying enough, the visitors have gone winless in five consecutive road fixtures in the Champions League since defeating RB Leipzig in October 2024 (D4, L1).

Slow out of the blocks, Juventus have failed to get on the scoresheet before halftime in four matches on the trot. Another sluggish start could prove fatal for the Bianconeri as they seek a precious victory against familiar foes.

Team News

Despite returning to training recently, this match will come too soon for Ferland Mendy and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Moreover, Madrid will be without Dani Carvajal, Dani Ceballos, and Antonio Rudiger. David Alaba could drop out of the starting XI after suffering a knock against Getafe, with Raul Asencio expected to take his place.

On the other hand, Juventus cannot call upon their standout defender Gleison Bremer for this ‘make or break’ contest. Long-serving absentee Arkadiusz Milik is also unavailable. The same applies to Juan Cabal, Fabio Miretti, and marquee summer signing Edon Zhegrova.

Real Madrid vs Juventus Potential Starting Line-ups

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Valverde, Militao, Asencio, Carreras; Tchouameni, Camavinga; Mastantuono, Guler, Vinicius; Mbappe.

Juventus (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Gatti, Rugani, Kelly; Kalulu, Locatelli, Thuram, Cambiaso; Conceicao, Yildiz; David.

Real Madrid vs Juventus Prediction

In addition to Tudor’s job, a place in the Champions League knockouts could be on the line for Juventus. Therefore, the stakes are high for the visiting side, who last won a competitive fixture in early September.

However, we cannot back the Bianconeri for success with any real conviction. Instead, we expect Madrid to accelerate Tudor’s exit.

Prediction: Real Madrid to Win