Lille vs Real Madrid Champions League preview: storylines, odds, prediction as Madrid continue their title defense

Sometimes it feels as if Real Madrid and the Champions League belong together as undeniably as Laurel and Hardy. Regardless of their home form or the caliber of their opponents, they generally find a way to get over the finish line. They have won the competition 15 times, an astonishing number considering that the second most successful team in the tournament's history, AC Milan, lifted the trophy seven times.

Real's rivals Barcelona are pretty high up in La Liga and Carlo Ancelotti's side missed the chance to close the gap at the weekend after being held to a draw by Atlético Madrid. But as always in European competition, none of this should have a major impact on the Champions League specialists.

Lille didn't start the season well at all and therefore a clear win seems unlikely. They lost their Champions League opener 2-0 at Sporting Lisbon and while they will have home advantage here, that hasn't helped them much lately. They have failed to win their last two home games and even suffered four defeats in a row at the start of this season. In contrast, Real have only lost two of 39 games across all competitions and comfortably won the start of the Champions League 3-1 against Stuttgart.

They say anything can happen, but in this case it doesn't feel like it – not least because Lille had gone winless in their last five games before the weekend.

Injuries are also increasing among the hosts. There is a possibility that Lille could be without up to six players for Real's visit, including former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Nabil Bentaleb and former Manchester United player Angel Gomes. The latter will serve a ban, but better news for the French team is that Real will be without two of their biggest names, Kylian Mbappe and Thibaut Courtois. Still, in the Champions League, it sometimes feels as if the defending champions could field a team of randomly selected spectators and still find a way to win.

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Lille vs Real Madrid odds

BetFair odds were updated at 4pm BST on Wednesday.

• Lille win: 9/2
• Pull: 10/3
• Real Madrid win: 4/6

Venue: Stade Pierre Mauroy — Villeneuve d'Ascq
Time: 8:00 p.m. BST (3:00 p.m. ET), Wednesday

Form Guide (all competitions)

Lille: WDLLL
Real Madrid: DWWWW

Match prediction

Lille – Real Madrid 0-3

It would be strange to say that Lille will win now. Let's not do that. That should be comfortable for Real Madrid and you could easily imagine a couple of goals lead, so let's end up with a final score of 0-3.

(Top photo of Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior: Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)