After winning the opening match of their Champions League campaign against Olympique Marseille, Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid will now face Kairat Almaty in the second game of the league phase. The Blancos are coming from the disappointment of a 5-2 defeat against Atletico Madrid and travelled 4,000 miles as they flew over Kazakhstan to face Kairat on Tuesday. The city of Almaty is only 186 miles from China’s border, making this game historic as it will be the second fixture played between sides from Kazakhstan and Spain in the Champions League, after Astana’s meetings with Atletico Madrid in the 2015-16 group stage. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game:
Viewing information
Date: Tuesday, Sep. 30 | Time: 12:45 p.m. ET
Location: Ortalyq stadion — Almaty, Kazakistan
Live stream: Paramount+
Odds: Kairat +2500; Draw +988; Real Madrid -1136
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How far is the game from Madrid?
Kylian Mbappe and his teammates travelled to Almaty on Sunday, breaking the usual protocol of the teams travelling to the away match only the day before the matchday, as Real Madrid had to travel over 4,000 miles, facing an 11-hour flight from Madrid. The Kazakh side are playing in the most important European tournament for the first time, and in their very first home game they are immediately facing one of the big teams, making it even more complicated. There is also an incredible, and probably too big for Kairat to covercome, difference between the two squads. Looking at their Transfermarkt values, Kairat’s whole team value is worth €12.73 million, while there are only four Real Madrid players with a value below the total amount of the Kazakh team (Dani Carvajal, David Alaba, Gonzalo Garcia and Dani Ceballos). The total value of Real Madrid’s squad is worth over €1 billion, according to Transfermarkt.
Possible lineups
Kairat XI: Sherhan Kalmurza; Erkin Tapalov, A. Martynovich, Egor Sorokin, Luis Mata, Damir Kasabulat; Ofri Arad, Aleksandr Mrynskiy, Valeri Gromyko, Jorginho; Dastan Satpaev.
Real Madrid XI: Thibaut Courtois; Raul Asencio, Dean Huijsen, David Alaba, Alvaro Carreras; Eduardo Camavinga, Fede Valverde; Franco Mastantuono, Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Junior; Kylian Mbappe.
Prediction
It should be an easy win for the team coached by Xabi Alonso despite the travel and the 11-hour flight. PICK: Kairat 0, Real Madrid 6.
Matchday 2 TV schedule
All times U.S./Eastern
TUESDAY, SEPT. 30TIMEHOW TO WATCH
UEFA Champions League Matchday
12 p.m.
Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network
Atalanta vs. Club Brugge
12:45 p.m.
Paramount+
Kirat Almaty vs. Real Madrid
12:45 p.m.
Paramount+
UEFA Champions League Today
2:00 p.m.
Paramount+, CBS Sports Network
The Golazo Show
3 p.m.
Paramount+
Pafos vs. Bayern Munich
3 p.m.
Paramount+, CBS Sports Network
Inter vs. Slavia Praha
3 p.m.
Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network
Chelsea vs. Benfica
3 p.m.
Paramount+
Bodo/Glimt vs. Tottenham3 p.m.Paramount+Galatasaray vs. Liverpool3 p.m.Paramount+Marseille vs. Ajax3 p.m.Paramount+Atletico Madrid vs. Eintracht Frankfurt3 p.m.Paramount+
UEFA Champions League Today post-match
5 p.m.
Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network