Real Madrid vs Marseille Champions League prediction, odds and betting offer

Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid welcome familiar faces Marseille with the La Liga side possessing a solid 100% win record over their Ligue 1 counterparts

Real Madrid begin their quest for a record-extending 16th Champions League title on Tuesday, as they host Marseille at the Santiago Bernabeu in their opening league phase fixture. This marks the first encounter between the two sides since Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in both home and away victories during the 2009-10 group stage.

After falling short in the Club World Cup semi-finals, Real Madrid have bounced back impressively, making a flawless start to their first La Liga campaign under former Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso. Los Blancos entered the international break in top form, having secured wins against Osasuna, Real Oviedo, and Mallorca.

They maintained their momentum in Saturday’s away clash with Real Sociedad, even after being reduced to ten men for over an hour following Dean Huijsen’s controversial red card for a last-man challenge on Mikel Oyarzabal. Kylian Mbappe and Arda Guler both found the net on either side of the sending-off, while Oyarzabal converted the resulting penalty in the 56th minute. Despite the setback, Alonso’s men held firm to claim their fourth consecutive victory, making them the only team with a perfect record in La Liga so far.

Now, Real Madrid shift their attention to Europe as they look to improve on last season’s league phase, where they finished 11th after five wins and three defeats from eight matches. The Spanish giants will also be aiming to preserve their perfect record against Marseille, having won all four previous meetings and scoring at least three goals in all but one of those encounters.

Marseille, meanwhile, return to the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2022-23, after finishing second in Ligue 1 last season. The French side are determined to progress beyond the league phase for the first time since reaching the quarter-finals in 2011-12.

Roberto De Zerbi’s team arrive in Madrid with a mixed start to their domestic campaign, having won both of their opening home games but losing both away fixtures. After a narrow defeat to ten-man Rennes, they responded with a dominant 5-2 win, only to fall 1-0 at Lyon before the international break. However, Marseille bounced back in style, scoring three first-half goals in a commanding 4-0 victory over Lorient in their first game back.