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Madrid record suggests tough night for Legia

Real Madrid are eyeing an eighth straight European home win as they host a Legia Warszawa side whose coach Jacek Magiera was sent off when they last faced Spanish opponents.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Portugal in a UEFA EURO 2016 quarter-final shoot-out against Poland
Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Portugal in a UEFA EURO 2016 quarter-final shoot-out against Poland ©AFP/Getty Images

Real Madrid CF will be bidding for an eighth straight home win in the UEFA Champions League when they host Legia Warszawa on matchday three.

Match background

Real Madrid
• Zinédine Zidane's side have four points from their opening two games in Group F having beaten Sporting Clube de Portugal (2-1) with an injury-time Álvaro Morata goal, then drawn 2-2 at Borussia Dortmund.

• Madrid's matchday one victory over Sporting was their seventh in a row at home in the UEFA Champions League.

• They have won 27 of their last 31 UEFA Champions League home fixtures, losing just once – 4-3 against FC Schalke 04 in 2014/15.

• Madrid's record against Polish clubs is P6 W6. They last faced opponents from Poland when beating Wisła Kraków 5-1 on aggregate in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. Zidane played in both matches – a 2-0 away success through two Fernando Morientes two goals, and a 3-1 home win in which Ronaldo (two) and Francisco Pavón scored.

Legia Warszawa
• Legia have begun their first UEFA Champions League group stage appearance since 1995/96 with successive defeats against Dortmund (0-6 home) and Sporting (0-2 away).

• Legia were unbeaten in three away games in this season's UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds, drawing at HŠK Zrinjski (1-1), and winning at FK AS Trenčín (1-0) and Dundalk FC (2-0).

• They lost all three away fixtures in last season's UEFA Europa League group stage.

• Legia's away record against Spanish clubs is P4 W0 D1 L3. Their most recent visit to Spain brought a 3-0 defeat at FC Barcelona in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. Jacek Magiera, now Legia coach but then a 25-year-old midfield player, was sent off in their 1-0 second-leg home reverse.

• Legia's only victory over Spanish opponents in eight attempts came in the 1970/71 European Champion Clubs' Cup quarter-finals against Club Atlético de Madrid – and their 2-1 home victory still failed to save them from elimination on away goals, after a 1-0 first-leg loss in Madrid.

Coach and player links
• As an FC Girondins de Bordeaux player, Zidane suffered a UEFA Cup second-round defeat at GKS Katowice on 18 October 1994 (aggregate 1-2).

• As well as featuring in both legs of Legia's 4-0 aggregate loss to Barcelona in 2002/03 UEFA Champions League qualifying, visiting coach Magiera was an unused substitute for their 6-1 defeat at Valencia CF in the 2001/02 UEFA Cup second round.

• Cristiano Ronaldo converted a penalty in Portugal's shoot-out victory over Poland in a UEFA EURO 2016 quarter-final also featuring Pepe and Michał Pazdan.

• Mihail Alexandrov lost 4-0 at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu with PFC Ludogorets Razgrad in the 2014/15 group stage, and also featured in the Bulgarian club's preceding 2-1 home defeat by the Spanish side.

• Steeven Langil was an 89th-minute substitute for AJ Auxerre in their 4-0 defeat at Madrid in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League group stage. He had previously started in their 1-0 home loss to the Merengues.

• Vadis Odjida Ofoe suffered two UEFA Europa League defeats in Spain with Club Brugge KV – losing 2-1 at Villarreal CF in the 2010/11 group stage and 3-0 after extra time at Valencia in the 2009/10 round of 32.

• Adam Hloušek played against Sergio Ramos as a substitute in the Czech Republic's 2-1 defeat against Spain in a UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier in Granada in March 2011.

Match facts

Madrid
• Zidane's men are unbeaten in 22 in all competitions, dating back to their 2-0 loss at Wolfsburg in the first leg of the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

• Madrid are 14 matches unbeaten at home (W12 D2), dating back to a 1-0 defeat by Club Atlético de Madrid on 27 February.

• The Merengues had drawn their last four games in all competitions prior to Saturday's 6-1 victory at Real Betis Balompié.

• Ronaldo, who rounded off the scoring against Betis, struck four in Portugal's 6-0 win against Andorra on 7 October and added one more three days later as the European champions defeated the Faroe Islands by the same scoreline. That took him above Zlatan Ibrahimović to sixth on the list of Europe's all-time top international scorers with 66 goals in 135 caps.

• The following were also on target during the recent internationals: Gareth Bale (Wales 1-1 Georgia), Toni Kroos (Germany 3-0 Czech Republic), Marco Asensio (Spain U-21s 5-0 Estonia).

• Ramos (knee), Luka Modrić (knee) and Casemiro (leg) are all likely to miss out through injury. Marcelo (calf) made his first appearance since 21 September – and scored – against Betis.

• Villarreal CF denied Madrid what would have been a Liga record 17th consecutive victory when they drew 1-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu on 21 September.

• Ramos has scored three goals already this season, equalling his tally from last term.

Legia
• Bartosz Bereszyński and Guilherme are both yellow cards away from a one-match ban.

• This match comes exactly 21 years to the day since Legia's last win in the UEFA Champions League proper, 1-0 at home to Blackburn Rovers FC. Since then they have lost five, drawn two.

• The Warsaw side have lost eight of their last 13 games in all competitions.

• Legia have won just six of their 22 matches this season.

• Coach Besnik Hasi left "by mutual agreement" two days after the 3-2 home loss to Zagłębie Lubin on 18 September. Aleksandar Vuković took temporary charge for the 0-0 draw at Wisła Kraków five days later before the appointment of Magiera on a two-year contract.

• Legia ended a run of five games without a win by beating the KS Lechia Gdańsk side that began the day joint-top of the Ekstraklasa 3-0 on 1 October. Miroslav Radović was sent off late on.

• Alexandrov converted an early penalty for Bulgaria away to France in the European Qualifiers on 7 October. The home side recovered to win 4-1.

• Arkadiusz Malarz, 36, signed a new deal during the international break, tying him to the club until June 2018.

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