Real Madrid vs Red Bull Salzburg Prediction: Vini Jr can bag a brace

Our Madrid-based La Liga Betting Expert unsurprisingly gets the Real Madrid assignment on Wednesday as they welcome in Austrian opposition for a Champions League encounter. TNT Sports 3 is the place to watch it in the UK with kick-off slated for 20:00.

You can read his full match preview below along with his two top betting tips as he takes us through his Real Madrid vs Red Bull Salzburg Predictions for us on Betfred Insights...

*You can check out all of our Football Odds over at betfred.com

There's a degree of pressure on Real Madrid on Wednesday night, when they welcome RB Salzburg to the Santiago Bernabéu for their penultimate match in the league phase of the Champions League. 

The defending champions are down in 20th place heading into this matchday, with the teams who finish 25th or below set to be eliminated. While one victory from their final two games will be enough to seal progress, they'd certainly rather avoid being in a situation where they still need a result away to surprise package Brest next Wednesday. 

The fact that Real Madrid have already lost three times in this competition, with those defeats coming against Lille, Milan and Liverpool, suggests that there is a vulnerability this season to the side that has dominated this competition over the past decade. 

Two heavy defeats against Barcelona in domestic competition, including a 5-2 thrashing in the Supercopa only the weekend before last, have also set the alarm bells ringing in the Spanish capital.  

Los Blancos were greeted with whistles from their own supporters when they returned home to face Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey last week, with Carlo Ancelotti describing the reaction as a "wake-up call" for his players. 

However, it's certainly not all doom and gloom for Real Madrid, and to some extent, that reaction is more a reflection of the exceptionally high standards that are unavoidable at the Bernabéu. 

It was a good weekend for those of a Madrid persuasion. Despite conceding after only 27 seconds against Las Palmas, they went on to utterly dominate the game, winning 4-1, with a further three goals ruled out by VAR. Elsewhere, their title rivals dropped points, meaning Ancelotti's side regained top spot in La Liga and now have a seven-point cushion on Barcelona. 

A brace for Kylian Mbappé was further evidence of his return to form, and Real Madrid have won seven of their last eight games in all competitions, scoring 28 goals in the process. 

They'll fancy their chances of adding several more to that tally against a Salzburg defence that has leaked 18 goals in their six games in the competition so far. Only Young Boys, Slovan Bratislava and Red Star Belgrade have conceded more. 

With only three goals scored, this has not been a good campaign for the Austrian side who have lost five of their six league phase matches so far. They'll be eliminated if they fail to win this game, but even were they to raid the Bernabéu and then see off Atlético Madrid at home next week, that might not be enough to avoid an exit. 

As a result, this feels like a trip that will be about the experience as much as anything for a youthful Salzburg squad. There is little about them that suggests they can cause an upset here, with even their Austrian Bundesliga campaign going badly. 

They won that league 10 seasons in a row between 2014 and 2023, but are currently down in 5th place and 10 points behind leaders Sturm Graz. That led to the sacking of Pepijn Lijnders in December, with German Thomas Letsch taking over. 

With the Austrian league currently on its winter break, this will be the 56-year-old's first competitive match at the helm. Letsch did oversee a 6-0 friendly defeat to Bayern Munich a fortnight ago, while Salzburg's preparations for the resumption of their Champions League campaign continued with a 3-2 defeat to Midtjylland in another friendly last week. 

Team News: 

With Lucas Vázquez suspended and Dani Carvajal out long-term with an injury, Ancelotti is short on right-back options for this game. Fede Valverde may be asked to fill in, but there are problems in midfield too, with Eduardo Camavinga definitely out, while Aurélien Tchouaméni is also a major doubt. 

Youngster Raúl Asencio may continue at centre-back, while Ferland Mendy is likely to rotate in at left-back. Vinícius Júnior and Luka Modric could also come into the eleven, having served suspensions at the weekend in La Liga. 

As for Salzburg, key duo Karim Konaté and Maurits Kjærgaard remain sidelined due to injuries which is far from ideal for the new boss as he targets a positive start. 

It's also unclear whether Bobby Clark, Alexander Schlager, Amar Dedić or Daouda Guindo will be judged fit enough to feature in Salzburg's first competitive game in over a month, after their recent issues. 

Real Madrid vs Red Bull Salzburg Odds

Real Madrid are the clearest favourites of all the teams in Champions League action this week. They are priced at 1/14 to win this game, while you can back the Draw at 10/1, with a shock Salzburg victory available at 28/1. 

If you fancy Los Blancos to run away with it, Real Madrid -2.00 Handicap is on offer at 8/13, while they are available at 7/5 with a -3.00 Handicap. You can also back Real Madrid to score over 3.5 goals at 10/11. 

The European champions have let in eight goals in their last three matches though, and you can back Both teams to score at 6/5. RB Salzburg are also available at 15/2 to win either half. 

Mbappé will fancy his chances of adding to his tally of four goals in his last three matches heading into this. The Frenchman is priced at 4/9 to get on the scoresheet here, while he's 5/2 to get the first goal. Jude Bellingham has also frequently been amongst the goals of late. The midfielder is 5/1 to score first here, while he's on offer at 21/20 to score anytime. 

From a visiting perspective, Oscar Gloukh and Petar Ratkov may form the forward line. Both players are priced at 20/1 to score first and 11/2 to score anytime. 

Bet 1 - Real Madrid to win, Over 3.5 goals & Over 5.5 Real Madrid corners @ 21/20 

Real Madrid have had their fair share of hiccups in this competition so far this season, but they are usually so good on nights like this at the Bernabéu when they just need to take care of business to secure progress. 

With Salzburg enduring a really poor season by their standards, and with a couple of their key players missing, there's very little reason to back an upset here. 

The goals have been flying in during Real Madrid matches of late with 19 in their last three matches alone and that trend could continue here. They've also won at least six corners in each of their last five fixtures. 

They look capable of bossing this game, and I'm using the Bet Builder to back Real Madrid to win, Over 3.5 goals and Over 5.5 Real Madrid corners at 21/20. 

Bet 2 - Vinícius Júnior to score two or more goals @ 16/5 

Vinícius will again be suspended when Los Blancos travel to Valladolid in La Liga at the weekend. That suggests he's very likely to complete the full 90 minutes here, with more obvious candidates for rests should the home team work up a substantial lead. 

The Brazilian has scored hat-tricks in two of his last four appearances at the Bernabéu, and he might just be brewing up for his first big performance of 2025 here. 

The Ballon d'Or runner-up's five Champions League goals this term have come at a rate of one every 90 minutes and he's capable of improving on that against a vulnerable Salzburg defence. I'm backing Vinícius to score two or more goals at 16/5. 

At the other end of the pitch, Alvarez continues to grow in confidence for Atleti and his understanding with Griezmann is improving. While burdened to some extent by a hefty price-tag that accompanied his move from Manchester City in the summer, the Argentina international has chipped in with 14 goals already for his new club and he's at least hit the target in eight of his last 11 appearances. 

Mark Sochon primarily covers Spanish Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out Mark's Football Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights writers on our Football home page...