Champions League: Real Madrid vs Monaco - Preview, Team News, H2H, Lineups & Predictions

The Santiago Bernabéu hosts a compelling UEFA Champions League encounter on Tuesday night as Real Madrid faces Monaco, with the Kylian Mbappé derby adding extra significance to the league-phase clash.

It will be Los Blancos’ first European outing under Álvaro Arbeloa, while Monaco arrive under pressure as they look to avoid an early exit from the competition.

Real Madrid are still navigating an uneven European campaign. In Xabi Alonso’s final Champions League match, they suffered a 2–1 home defeat to Manchester City, following an earlier loss to Arsenal.

MUST READ: Samuel Eto’o backs Sadio Mane to win Another African Footballer of the Year Award

A 1–0 domestic defeat to Liverpool further highlighted their inconsistency, leaving Madrid seventh in the 36-team standings with 12 points from 18—currently enough for automatic qualification, but far from secure.

Arbeloa has steadied the side domestically, guiding Real to a 2–0 La Liga win over Levante after a shock Copa del Rey exit to Albacete. That result extended Madrid’s home winning run to three matches and saw them move within one point of leaders Barcelona.

Monaco sits three points behind Real, though a 12-place gap separates the teams in the standings. Sébastien Pocognoli’s side has lost only once in the Champions League so far and is unbeaten in their last five European matches, most recently edging Galatasaray 1–0 through a Folarin Balogun goal to climb to 19th.

However, inconsistency remains an issue for the Ligue 1 side, who were beaten 3–1 at home by Lorient on Friday. Monaco will also draw confidence from history, having eliminated Real Madrid at the 2003–04 Champions League quarter-final stage on away goals.

READ ALSO: Did Brahim Diaz intentionally miss the 2025 AFCON final Penalty? Here's all we know

Real Madrid remain depleted, with Rodrygo, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy, and Álvaro Carreras all sidelined. Brahim Díaz is unavailable following AFCON duty with Morocco.

Monaco are without Lamine Camara and Krépin Diatta after AFCON involvement, while Paul Pogba, Mohammed Salisu, Takumi Minamino, and Lukas Hradecky are sidelined through injury.

• Total matches: 2

• Real Madrid wins: 1

• Monaco wins: 1

• Draws: 0

READ MORE: FIFA President condemns 'unacceptable scenes' during AFCON 2025 final

Real Madrid (possible XI): Courtois; Valverde, Asencio, Huijsen, García; Camavinga, Tchouaméni, Bellingham; Güler, Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior

Monaco (possible XI): Köhn; Vanderson, Kehrer, Dier, Henrique; Akliouche, Teze, Zakaria, Golovin; Balogun, Biereth

With home advantage and attacking quality at their disposal, Real Madrid will be favorites, but Monaco’s resilience in Europe suggests this could be a closely contested encounter rather than a routine Bernabéu victory.

Predicted Score: 2-1, 3-1, or Over 2.5

Anytime goal scorer: Mbappe