Kairat Almaty-Real Madrid: unprecedented matchup for first Champions League away trip of the campaign
Our team travel to Kazakhstan for the second game of the opening phase (6:45 pm CEST).
Real Madrid are back in Champions League action with a first in their history - our team, fresh from an opening-day win over Marseille at the Bernabéu (2-1), this evening head to the Ortalyq Stadıon in Almaty (Kazakhstan) for their first away test (6:45 pm CEST).
Up the other end will be Kairat Almaty, who are playing in the Champions League for the first time ever. Xabi Alonso's boys are fully focused on picking up a second win in as many games in this year's competition: "Kairat Almaty are a well-drilled side and they won't make life easy for us," he underlined in the pre-match press conference.
Enjoy all the videos from this match on RM Play
Our coach is without five key players for the clash, all of them in defence. Militão, Carvajal, Trent, Rüdiger and Mendy all miss out on the trip to Kazakhstan. Mbappé is available though, and he'll be hoping to extend his blistering start to the season that has seen him hit ten goals in eight games so far.
Kairat Almaty
This evening's opposition got their campaign underway with defeat to Sporting in Portugal (4-1). They had to come through four qualifying rounds in order to make the tournament proper, seeing off Olimpija Ljubljana, Finnish side Kups, Slovan Bratislava and Celtic. They went unbeaten and kept clean sheets in all four games on home turf.