Lille vs Real Madrid Prediction: A competitive game awaits for the defending champions

An injury-time equaliser took the wind out of Real Madrid's sails on Sunday night in the Madrid Derby but they have no time to mope as Los Blancos are back in Champions League action on Wednesday night at French side Lille. TNT Sports 5 has the broadcast live in the UK from 20:00.

Our Spanish football expert Mark Sochon gets the assignment for this one and he's expecting a competitive match. Check out why along with his Lille vs Real Madrid Predictions in his preview right here at Betfred Insights...

Real Madrid's Champions League title defence takes them to France on Wednesday, with Lille their second opponents in the new league phase.  

No team has defeated Los Blancos in this competition since Manchester City's dominant 4-0 win in the second leg of their semi-final in the 2022/23 season. That match was perceived in some quarters, even in Spain, as the potential passing of the guard in the battle for European football supremacy. 

The game certainly forced Carlo Ancelotti to alter his thinking and construct a more combative midfield, after Luka Modrić and Toni Kroos were totally overrun by a rampant City that night. Aided by the impact of Jude Bellingham last season, Real Madrid have certainly not been knocked from their perch and will take some stopping again in this competition this season. 

Along with the other elite European clubs, they'll be targeting a top eight finish in this initial phase. They made a positive first step towards that goal, by defeating Stuttgart 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu in their opening Champions League fixture. 

It wasn't a flawless display, with the Bundesliga side creating plenty of chances and having 17 attempts on goal in an open game. However Los Blancos again raised their level when they needed to, with late strikes from Antonio Rüdiger and Endrick sealing victory. 

Since then, Real Madrid have narrowed the gap to Barcelona at the top of La Liga, by taking seven points from their last three matches in the Spanish top flight. They had to come from behind to beat Espanyol 4-1, before surviving a late scare to see off Alavés 3-2. 

Sunday saw them cross the Spanish capital to play city rivals Atlético, the only team to have defeated them since the start of last season. In a game marred by crowd disturbances, Real coped well with the task at hand and looked to be on course for victory after Éder Militão's 64th minute strike, only for Ángel Correa to fire in a late leveller for Diego Simeone's side. 

Excluding Extra Time, Los Blancos remain unbeaten in more than 12 months of football, but it hasn't been a particularly convincing start to the new campaign from Lille who have already suffered four defeats in all competitions. 

Those losses came in successive fixtures, but despite that, they did manage to battle their way through two tricky Champions League qualifiers, seeing off José Mourinho's Fenerbahce and Slavia Prague with 3-2 aggregate victories. 

The final defeat in that four match losing streak came in Lisbon against Sporting a fortnight ago. A First Half red card for England international Angel Gomes added to the challenge for Lille against the Portuguese champions, as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat, far from the ideal way to head into back-to-back matches against the Madrid clubs in this competition. 

The recently appointed Bruno Génésio was already feeling the heat after that result, with the 58-year-old taking over from the successful Paulo Fonseca in the summer. 

A 3-3 home draw against Strasbourg in their next match did little to ease those concerns, but Lille were much more assured at the weekend, seeing off Le Havre 3-0 away from home thanks to a hat-trick from star striker Jonathan David. 

Team News: 

Selection problems are hampering Lille right now and they could be missing as many as six players here. They have serious issues in midfield with Angel Gomes suspended and Hakon Arnar Haraldsson injured. Ethan Mbappé is also out, denying him the chance to line up against his older brother. 

Defenders Ismaily and Samuel Umtiti are also missing for the hosts who are expected to go with a 4-2-3-1 formation with David leading the line.  

Real Madrid will be forced into at least one change from Sunday's derby with Andriy Lunin set to replace the injured Thibaut Courtois in goal. 

Kylian Mbappé is part of the travelling squad, but it's unclear whether he'll be fit enough to feature. David Alaba, Dani Ceballos and Brahim Díaz remain sidelined. 

Lille vs Real Madrid Odds

The defending champions are the 3/5 favourites to win this game. You can back the Draw at 16/5, while Lille are priced at 9/2 to secure one of their greatest ever European victories. 

If you're expecting lots of goalmouth action, you can back Over 2.5 goals at 4/6, while Over 3.5 goals is on offer at 13/8. Real Madrid and Both teams to score is available at 21/10, while you can back Real Madrid and Over 2.5 goals at 5/4. 

The Spanish champions have largely been a Second Half team this season, with 19 of their 22 goals in all competitions coming after the break. Given that, Draw/Real Madrid may appeal at 100/30 in the Half-Time/Full-Time market, while you can back the visitors to win the Second Half at 5/6. 

With doubts over the extent of Mbappé's participation, Vinícius Júnior at 6/5 and Rodrygo at 9/5 may be the standout options in the Anytime Goalscorer market from a visiting perspective. 

As for Lille, you back David to build on his weekend hat-trick and score anytime at 9/4, while in-form Edon Zhegrova is priced at 100/30 to do likewise. 

*You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com

Bet 1 - Both teams to score @ 8/11 

This has the makings of a really good game with Lille a force to be reckoned with at home. They've not failed to score at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy since way back in February 2023 and will fancy they can ask some serious questions of this Real Madrid defence. 

The visitors have not been flawless at the back so far this term. They've conceded in each of their last four fixtures and were opened up on a number of occasions by Stuttgart at the Bernabéu a fortnight ago. 

While Ancelotti will still expect his side to have the better of the game and exploit Lille's midfield issues, I'm backing Both teams to score at 8/11. 

Bet 2 - Lille Over 11.5 shots @ 49/50 

Having allowed their opponents to have 17 shots in their Champions League opener, Los Blancos have also faced 12 attempts in their last two league games against Atleti and Alavés. 

Lille are certainly a team that will seek to play on the front foot at their own stadium and they may look to test Lunin from range here, with the Ukrainian perhaps low on confidence having not played competitively since a shaky display in his country's Euro 2024 opener which resulted in a 3-0 defeat to Romania back in June. 

Given that, I think there's value in backing Lille Over 11.5 shots at 49/50. 

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