It sometimes feels as if Real Madrid and the Champions League belong together as unmistakably as Laurel and Hardy. Regardless of their domestic form or the caliber of their opponents, they generally find a way to get over the line. They have won the competition fifteen times, an astonishing number when you consider that the next most successful team in the tournament’s history, AC Milan, has lifted the trophy seven times.

Real’s rivals Barcelona are firmly at the top of La Liga and Carlo Ancelotti’s side squandered the chance to close the gap last weekend after being held to a draw by Atletico Madrid. But as is always the case when it comes to European competition, none of that should have much effect on the Champions League specialists.

Lille have not started the season well at all and so a statement victory seems unlikely. They lost their Champions League opener 2-0 at Sporting Lisbon and while they will have home advantage here, it hasn’t been of much use recently. They have failed to win their last two home matches and even suffered four straight defeats earlier this season. In contrast, Real have lost just two games in 39 appearances in all competitions and won their Champions League opener comfortably 3-1 against Stuttgart.

They say anything can happen, but in this case it doesn’t feel that way, not least because Lille had gone without a win in their previous five games before the weekend.

Injuries are also piling up for the home team. There is a chance that Lille will be without as many as six players for Real’s visit, including former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Nabil Bentaleb and former Manchester United man Angel Gomes. The latter will serve a suspension but, in better news for the French team, there is also the possibility that Real will be without two of their biggest names, Kylian Mbappe and Thibaut Courtois. Yet in the Champions League it sometimes feels like the holders can put together a team of randomly selected audience members and still find a way to win.

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Lille vs Real Madrid odds

BetFair odds updated from 4pm BST on Wednesday.

• Lille win: 9/2
• To draw: 10/3
• Real Madrid victory: 4/6

Location: Stade Pierre Mauroy — Villeneuve d’Ascq
Time: 8pm BST (3pm ET), Wednesday

Form guide (all competitions)

Lille: WDLLL
Real Madrid: DWWWW

Match prediction

Lille 0-3 Real Madrid

It would be strange to suggest that it will now be a victory in Lille. Let’s not do that. This should be comfortable for Real Madrid and you can easily imagine a margin of a few goals, so let’s land on a final score of 0-3.

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