Real Madrid vs Red Bull Salzburg: betting odds January 22, 2025

The Matchday 7 encounter of the 2024/25 Champions League group stage between Real Madrid (Spain) and Salzburg (Austria) will take place on January 22 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Real Madrid vs. Salzburg: prediction and betting odds, statistics.

Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)

Matches – 6 (International matches, 2024/25);

Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 19;

Average yellow cards per match – 3.2;

Red cards shown – 0;

Average fouls per match – 24;

Penalties – 33%.

Predicted lineups for Real Madrid vs. Salzburg

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Thibaut Courtois – Fran Garcia, Raul Asensio, Lucas Vazquez, Antonio Rudiger – Federico Valverde, Dani Ceballos – Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo Goes – Kylian Mbappe.

Salzburg (4-3-3): Alexander Schlager – Daouda Guindo, Samson Baidoo, Amar Dedic, Nicolas Capaldo – Oscar Gloukh, Lucas Gourna-Douath, Mads Bidstrup – Dorgeles Nene, Petar Ratkov, Moussa Kounfolo Yeo.

Real Madrid

The Madrid side secured an important victory in the last round, defeating Atalanta away with a score of 3-2. Before this, the Spaniards lost two consecutive Champions League group stage matches: first, they were beaten 3-1 at home by AC Milan, and then they suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Liverpool. Notably, before their win over Atalanta, Carlo Ancelotti's men had neither scored nor collected points in two consecutive away matches in this European competition. Real Madrid is currently in 20th place, but only two points separate them from the 25th position.

Midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, defenders Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao will miss this match due to injuries, while Lucas Vazquez is suspended.

• The club has not lost in regular time in 16 of their last 19 Champions League matches (12 wins and 4 draws).
• Both teams have scored in 9 of Real Madrid's last 12 games in this tournament.
• At least two goals have been scored in the second half in 7 of Madrid's last 9 matches in this European competition.

Salzburg

The Austrians enter the upcoming match with two consecutive defeats and an aggregate score of 0-8. First, they lost 5-0 away to Bayer Leverkusen, and in the last round, the club was defeated 3-0 at home by PSG. In this season's Champions League, the team has suffered five "clean sheet" defeats and only managed a victory in an away match against Feyenoord (3-1). Salzburg is in 31st place with three points, and if they do not win the upcoming match, they will wave goodbye to their chances of reaching the tournament's playoffs. It's also worth noting that the club has only scored three goals in the group stage, with only Bologna having a worse record, scoring just one goal.

Midfielders Maurits Kjaergaard and Samson Tijani, forward Karim Konate will miss the game due to injuries.

• At least three goals have been scored in 5 of the Austrians' last 6 games in this European competition. 
• Salzburg has won just two of their last 14 away matches in the Champions League (5 draws and 7 losses).
• The team has scored only one goal in the first half in their last six matches in this tournament.

Real Madrid vs. Salzburg: Match Prediction

The Spaniards are only mid-table but still have a good chance to finish in the top eight. They need to collect maximum points, which is quite achievable considering they will face Salzburg, who are at the bottom, and Brest, who are performing well in the Champions League but struggling in Ligue 1. It's also crucial for Madrid to win by a large margin, as goal difference might be a deciding factor in the standings.

The Austrians, in my view, have already accepted that they won't progress further in the tournament. The team has only scored in one group stage match, with 4 out of 6 games ending in heavy defeats. Notably, even Sparta Prague defeated Salzburg with a resounding 3-0 scoreline, and modest Dinamo Zagreb won against the Austrians on their home turf by two goals (2-0). Meanwhile, Madrid has defeated Borussia Dortmund (5-2) and Stuttgart (3-1) at home in this season's Champions League, and these opponents are significantly stronger than Salzburg.

My prediction – Real Madrid with a handicap (-2.5)