Union Berlin vs Real Madrid prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-12-11 20:00.
Union Berlin ended their 16-match winless streak (D3, L13) by beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 on Saturday, which should give them some confidence as they turn their attention to Europe. But following an underwhelming UEFA Champions League (UCL) debut (D2, L3), nothing other than a win over Real Madrid coupled with Napoli beating Braga will be enough for them to secure a transfer to the UEFA Europa League.
There’s every incentive for Die Eisernen to go for broke before they refocus on their fight to climb further away from the Bundesliga’s bottom three, but after losing both UCL home fixtures this term by a single-goal margin, the omens aren’t great. On the plus side, Saturday’s win was their first at home since August (D1, L6), so new manager Nenad Bjelica may feel they’re turning a corner.
Real Madrid have already qualified for the knockout stages as group winners after five wins from five so far, so this is effectively a dead rubber for them, although they’ll want to finish with a perfect group-stage record for the third time, something only Bayern Munich have achieved that often. They travel following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Real Betis – one of Bjelica’s former clubs – as they battle for La Liga supremacy with unexpected challengers Girona, who continue to keep Carlo Ancelotti’s side on their toes.
Ancelotti will want to see a strong performance as a win here would put him on his own at the top with a record 42 UCL victories as Real Madrid manager, but that might not be so easy considering Los Blancos have lost four of their last 11 UCL (W6, D1) away fixtures. However, their recent record against German clubs is much better as they’ve lost only one of their last six UCL away games against such teams (W3, D2).
Players to watch: Kevin Volland has netted in two of Union’s last three fixtures, opening the scoring for them on each occasion. Jude Bellingham, meanwhile, was on the mark again at the weekend having become the first player to score in each of his first four UCL appearances for Madrid when he struck against Napoli last month.
Hot stat: Madrid have scored four UCL goals after the 75th minute this season (Union: zero).