The Champions League is back, and our team get underway at the Bernabéu. Olympique Marseille are tonight's opposition in the opener - cause for positivity for a Real Madrid side that has won all four of their encounters with the French outfit in the competition to date (Tuesday, 9:00 pm CEST). Xabi Alonso's boys will be looking to get off on the right foot on a path that will conclude with the final at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on 30 May.

Real Madrid are on home soil as they begin their 56th participation in the European Cup. They're the club with most appearances in the historic tournament, and tonight's goal is none other than to continue a strong start to the season - which has already seen them rise to the top of LaLiga thanks to a flawless record four games in.

The new format embarks on its second season
Tonight's is the first of eight games for our team in the league phase, part of the new format which is only in its second campaign. Four of those fixtures come at home (Olympique Marseille, Juventus, Manchester City and Monaco), and four on the road (Kairat Almaty, Liverpool, Olympiacos and Benfica). The 36 teams are all ranked in a single league, with the top eight qualifying directly for the round of 16. Teams who finish from 9th to 24th face a two-legged playoff round to book their place - and from the round of 16, it's a traditional route to the final.

The squad
“Playing in the Champions League for Madrid, and at the Bernabéu, is even greater motivation," underlined Xabi Alonso in the  for the visit of Olympique Marseille, with notable returns for Bellingham and Camavinga. Mbappé will also be available, having hit four goals in the team's first four games of the new season.

Olympique Marseille
The French outfit, who finished second in Ligue 1 last season, come into the game off the back of a big 4-0 win over Lorient at the weekend, thanks to goals for Greenwood, Pavard, Gomes and Aguerd. It's their second win of the campaign so far, following victory over Paris FC (5-2), added to two one-goal defeats: Lyon (1-0) and Rennes (1-0). Greenwood and Aubameyang, each with two, are their leading goalscorers so far.