Real Madrid take on Shakhtar Donetsk tonight hoping to redeem themselves from the recent harsh defeat against arch-rivals Barcelona.
Los Blancos are already qualified for the last-16 round of the Champions League, but they need a win desperately in order to calm the fans nerves and to silence criticism.
A defeat would be terrible for both Rafa Benitez and Florentino Perez, who were booed off by the Santiago Bernabeu fans after El Clasico.
The Spanish manager is expected to bring Casemiro back to the starting line-up, in order to regain the balance they lacked against Barcelona. Toni Kroos could rest against Shakhtar.
Benitez will miss Sergio Ramos and Marcelo due to injury, so Pepe and Nacho Fernandez could play from the start. Meanwhile, Daniel Carvajal is expected to return to the starting eleven replacing Danilo, as he is completely recovered from his injury. In fact, he played a few minutes last weekend against Barcelona.
Shakhtar also need the win in order to keep their hopes of qualifying for the next round. Yet, that will not be easy, as they need Paris Saint-Germain to drop points against Malmo, and that is not likely to happen. The Ukranians will miss Kucher and Srna through suspension.
Possible line-ups:
Shakhtar Donetsk: Pyatov; Dentinho, Kryvtsov, Rakitskiy, Ismaily; Stepanenko, Fred, Marlos, Bernard; Alex Teixeira; Gladkiy.
Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Pepe, Nacho; Modric, Casemiro, James Rodriguez; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo.
