Real Madrid will look to carry their recent good form into the UEFA Champions League as they host Salzburg on Wednesday. Los Blancos are playing with confidence at the moment and should be too strong for the Austrians, who have struggled in the competition.
Los Blancos have been below their best in this season’s Champions League as they have picked up three wins and suffered as many defeats from their six matches. However, one of the wins came in their previous fixture in the competition as they won 3-2 at Atalanta.
Real have been solid lately and are unbeaten in 10 of their last 11 matches in all competitions. The 4-1 win over Las Palmas highlights the mood of Carlo Ancelotti’s team lately as they scored and won both halves in that clash, although they have conceded in all six of their Champions League matches.
Salzburg have been poor in this season’s Champions League, suffering five defeats in six matches, including a 3-0 home defeat to PSG last time out. They are currently outside the playoff places but sitting five points off the top 24, still hold a slim chance of progressing to the next phase.
Despite switching managers, Salzburg’s recent form remains poor as they are winless in four of their last five matches in all competitions. Thomas Letsch’s men have lost three times in that run and were thrashed 6-0 by Bayern Munich in a friendly earlier in January.
How the bookies view it: Los Blancos overwhelming favourites
The bookies have installed Real Madrid as overwhelming favourites and are priced at 1/12 by BoyleSports. An unlikely victory for Salzburg is valued at 25/1 by BoyleSports, who are also offering odds of 12/1 for a draw.
Head to head: Only one meeting
The only previous meeting between both teams was a friendly in 2019 which ended 1-0 in favour of Real Madrid.
Players to watch: Red hot Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe has been in superb form for Real Madrid lately, scoring eight goals in the last 10 matches in all competitions. The French forward will be the one to watch on Wednesday and is priced at 4/9 with BoyleSports.
Given Madrid’s shaky defence, Salzburg are likely to get a few scoring opportunities on Wednesday. Dorgeles Nene has scored in the last two Bundesliga matches for the Austrians and could be worth keeping an eye on at 6/1 with BoyleSports.
Probable line-ups
Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal are all sidelined with injury for Real Madrid. Vinicius Junior was suspended for the win at Las Palmas and should return to the attack on Wednesday alongside Rodrygo and Mbappe.
Karim Konate remains sidelined for Salzburg after undergoing surgery for a torn cruciate ligament in his knee. Nene should feature in attack alongside Oscar Gloukh while Samson Baidoo should retain his place in defence.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Garcia, Rudiger, Ansencio, Vazquez, Valverde, Ceballos, Vinicius, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Mbappe
Salzburg: Blaswich, Morgalla, Baidoo, Mellberg, Terzic, Yeo, Capaldo, Bidstrup, Nene, Daghim, Gloukh
Anything else catch the eye?
There have been over 3.5 goals in three of Real Madrid’s last four Champions League matches and a repeat is priced at 8/13 with BoyleSports. Los Blancos are likely to concede so a win and both teams to score can be considered at 8/5 with BoyleSports.
A dominant Real Madrid performance is expected here, so they could be backed to win both halves at 8/11 with BoyleSports. The hosts can also be backed in the -1 handicap market at 11/8 with BoyleSports.
This UEFA Champions League match between Real Madrid and Salzburg will be played on Jan 22, 2025 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Real Madrid vs Salzburg prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
