Tuesday 21 October 2014 16:22, UK
Real Madrid have confirmed they be without Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos for their Champions League trip to Liverpool on Wednesday.
Both players, who scored in last season’s 4-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final, have been left out of Carlo Ancelotti's squad due to injury.
Bale is also a major doubt for Saturday's first El Clasico of the season against Barcelona due to an abdominal muscle injury.
Ramos has missed the last three games for club and country due to a calf problem, but his absence is more precautionary ahead of the weekend’s clash at the Bernabeu.
French internationals Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane, who missed Saturday's 5-0 thrashing of Levante due to a fever, have been included in the squad that arrived in England on Tuesday morning.
Madrid are top Group B after winning their opening two games, and sit three points clear of Liverpool and Basel.
Even without Bale and Ramos, Madrid still represent a tough challenge with the Reds looking to work out how to deal with Cristiano Ronaldo who arrives at Anfield on the back of breaking at 71-year La Liga record by scoring 15 goals in the first eight matches of the season.
"He's a player off the charts. His evolution in recent years, the way how he has become a goalscorer has been amazing," Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers told Sky Sports’ Guillem Balague in an interview for Spanish newspaper AS.
"We need to know to stop him but there is danger in other parts of the field. You have (Luka) Modric, (Toni) Kroos - wonderful technicians who can play short, long.
"They have amazing talents all over the field and they have the technique to play in small spaces and when the space opens up there is no one better on the counter-attack in Ronaldo and Bale because, they are two players that could be in the Olympic 100 metres final.
"They are as strong a team now as they have been for many years. They have everything, big experience, big players, speed, technique and a great manager in (Carlo) Ancelotti, a good man who works with players and who is a good person.
"And they are the reigning champions as well and they will want to defend their title."
Liverpool v Real Madrid is live on Sky Sports 5 on Wednesday night - coverage starts at 6pm
