Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund | UEFA Champions League | OneFootball

Real Madrid return to action in the UEFA Champions League tomorrow night in what will be a massive fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Having won away at Balaidos at the weekend, Los Blancos now enjoy two successive games at home. Both fixtures, however, will be anything but enjoyable.

Tomorrow night, they host Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League before Barcelona pay them a visit at the weekend in El Clasico.

Los Blancos enter tomorrow’s game with a defeat in their last outing in the European event and will be gunning for three points to push them up the ladder. Their opponents, however, are at the pinnacle of the standings with a solid six points in two games.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund.

Time to shuffle the cards?

Carlo Ancelotti will need to shuffle his team. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

While Real Madrid did indeed pick up three points in their most recent outing against Celta Vigo, the team’s performance on the night was anything but convincing.

The team picked up three points thanks to a moment of magic from Luka Modric and Vinicus’ ability to make the most of his chance, but the fact of the matter is that the Galicians were the better side and had the better chances at Balaidos.

Real Madrid are still clearly struggling for form and are dismal on the field, and Ancelotti’s concerns heading into tomorrow’s game are thus warranted.

As revealed earlier today, the manager now identifies a serious need to improve Jude Bellingham’s contributions in the final third as he was their trump card last season and is thus contemplating bringing him back to his old position.

If Ancelotti is indeed planning this massive change, it will mean a shift in formation back to a 4-4-2 diamond.

There is a good chance that the men in white line up in last season’s formation tomorrow with Bellingham playing directly behind Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe.

In such a case, Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni will complete the midfield. The only downside, however, is that it will cost Rodrygo his place in the starting XI.

The UCL finale rematch

Borussia Dortmund were defeated by Real Madrid last season. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

The last time Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund faced off, was in the finale of last season’s UEFA Champions League at Wembley.

Having made it all the way to the final, both sides faced off in a thrilling fixture that saw many twists and Los Blancos eventually pulled away to a 2-0 win.

Notably, however, Real Madrid were not the better side on the night for a large part of the game and even spent the first half defending Dortmund’s vicious attacks. Only a masterclass from Dani Carvajal and Thibaut Courtois saved them from conceding.

Both of the Merengues’ goals at Wembley came in the final 20 minutes, and considering that even an in-form Real Madrid did not have it easy against Dortmund, tomorrow’s game will be an uphill challenge considering the team’s form.

The game at Santiago Bernabeu will see Carlo Ancelotti’s men play a repeat of last season’s UCL finale without the man-of-the-match from the night, Carvajal, and with significantly less momentum going for them.

Dortmund, meanwhile, are at the top of the UCL league stage table and even scored seven goals in their last game in the competition.

No ground to lose

Real Madrid cannot afford to slip. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

These are early days in the UEFA Champions League and the renewed format gives clubs more room for error with a lower chance of facing elimination.

The path to qualification, however, is not straightforward and depends on the teams’ final position on the table after eight match days.

The top eight placed teams in the league stage will make it directly to the Round of 16, but the other eight spots will be determined by an additional round of games played between the teams that finish 9th to 24th.

Given the already hectic calendar, Los Blancos cannot afford to add another two-legged tie to their schedule and thus must strive to earn the shortcut to the knockouts. The competition for the top eight spots, however, is fierce and unforgiving.

Having already dropped three points to Lille in their last outing, the Merengues simply do not have much room for error if they are to make it to the top eight.

Another defeat at this stage will leave them in a situation where they must win all five of their remaining games, and that will not be easy considering that Liverpool and AC Milan are yet to come.

Tomorrow’s game, thus, is virtually a must-win for Real Madrid who are already 17th on the standings and it will be interesting to see how they perform under pressure.