Carlo Ancelotti's men will be in high spirits tonight at a parked Santiago Bernabeu when they host German side RB Leipzig for a UEFA Champions League round of 16 return fixture. The Los Blancos came out victorious 1-0 last time out. Brahim Diaz ensured that Real Madrid came out of the Red Bull Arena with all three points with a sensational solo effort that settled the dust in the first-leg showdown. The attack-minded RB Salzburg were not short of goal-scoring opportunities but a combination of Roten Bullen's wastefulness, last-ditch defending, and Andriy Lunin's heroics saw Los Blancos fly away with a narrow advantage. Real Madrid are seven points clear from second-placed Girona at the top of the La Liga standings and will now be seeking to avoid a second exit from 21 Champions League ties in which they have won the first leg. Their first elimination came against Ajax during the 2018-19 campaign. 

During that season's campaign, Erik Ten Hag's Ajax recovered from a one-goal home deficit with a phenomenal 4-1 Bernabeu victory. If RB Leipzig are to prolong their Champions League journey at the expense of the tournament's most successful side tonight, they are forced to emulate what Ajax did half a decade ago. RB Leipzig should have probably found the back of the net at the Red Bull Arena but they were let down by missing a clinical edge. Marco Rose's men, however, had an easy sailing as they put 4 passed Bochum during the weekend in a fixture that ended in a 4-1 victory. 

Leipzig sit in fifth place in the Bundesliga table just one point behind Borussia Dortmund. They now head to Santiago Bernabeu having failed to secure a win in their last six UEFA Champions League elimination rounds games. They have been on this sequence from the 2019-20 season. Should Real Madrid be successful in the pursuit to the quarter-finals tonight then a third last-16 exit in four seasons awaits Marco Aseso's men. The German side previously visited the Los Blancos turf during the 2022-23 group stages where they suffered a 2-goal loss after strikes from Marco Asensio and Federico Valverde.

(Image: Football on Dailysports)