Real Madrid to play Leipzig; Sevilla visit Copenhagen

MADRID: Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will continue his policy of squad rotations for Wednesday's Champions League tie at home to RB Leipzig.

Last week's 3-0 win away to Celtic got Real Madrid's title defense off to a perfect start and they are clear favourites against a side that kicked off their European campaign with a 4-1 defeat at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.

That defeat saw coach, Domenico Tedesco, sacked and replaced by Marcos Rose in the RB Leipzig dugout and Rose began his time in charge with a 3-0 win at home to Borussia Dortmund.

Real Madrid are without Eder Militao, Karim Benzema and Lucas Vazquez for Wednesday, but Ancelotti will be able to bring Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modric and Dani Carvajal into his side to freshen things up.

Meanwhile, Eden Hazard or Marco Asensio will probably cover for Benzema, although Asensio made his unhappiness clear to see when he spent time warming up on Sunday, only to fail to get a minute on the pitch.

Ancelotti said after Real Madrid's 4-1 win at home to Mallorca, that he understood Asensio's frustration, but whether he understands enough to give him a start is a big question, reports Xinhua.

Meanwhile, Sevilla face a tricky visit to Copenhagen, with coach Julen Lopetegui still under pressure, although Saturday's 3-2 win away to Espanyol probably saved the former Spain coach's job after kicking off the season with four defeats and a draw in all competitions. Failure to win in Denmark would again pile the pressure on Lopetegui.

The coach's faith in the young defender, Jose Angel Carmona was rewarded with two goals on Saturday and he is likely to give responsibility to Carmona and new arrivals Kasper Dolberg and Adnan Januzaj in Copenhagen.

Last week's 4-0 defeat at home to Manchester City means Sevilla need at least a point in Denmark and the coach probably needs considerably more.