Basel v Real Madrid background

FC Basel 1893 host Real Madrid CF looking to avenge their 5-1 defeat in the Spanish capital on matchday one – and take a step closer to the knockout stage.

• Madrid have already qualified and need only avoid a defeat of four goals or more to secure first place. As for Basel, they can qualify on matchday five if they beat Madrid and Liverpool FC fail to take three points against PFC Ludogorets Razgrad.

Previous meetings
• In the 1971/72 UEFA Cup first round, Madrid came from behind to beat Basel 2-1 in Switzerland and then won by the same score at home.

• The lineups in Switzerland were:
Basel: Kunz, Fischli, Mundschin, Ramseier, Siegenthaler, Sundermann, Balmer (Wenger 60), Odermatt, Hitzfeld, Hasler, Demarmels.
Real Madrid: García Remón, Zunzunegui, Verdugo, Grosso, Benito, Zoco, Aguilar, Toni Grande, Santillana, Velázquez (Fleitas 77), Anzarda.

Match background

Basel
• Second in Group B, the Rot-Blauen are seeking to complete a hat-trick of home wins in the section having already got the better of Liverpool (1-0) and Ludogorets (4-0).

• Basel have won seven and lost just one of their ten European home games since the start of last season.

• Behrang Safari and Marco Streller played in the Swiss champions' last UEFA Champions League home meeting with Spanish opposition – a 5-0 defeat by FC Barcelona in the 2008/09 group stage.

• Basel beat Valencia CF 3-0 at home in last season's UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, before falling 5-0 after extra time in the return in Spain. Their overall home record against Spanish sides is W2 D2 L3.

Real Madrid
• Carlo Ancelotti's men are on a seven-match winning streak in the UEFA Champions League.

• The defending champions have won six of their last eight away games in the competition, including victories over Ludogorets (2-1) and Liverpool (3-0) in this group stage.

• Madrid's last visit to Switzerland brought a 5-2 victory at FC Zürich in the 2009/10 group stage, featuring two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo on his first UEFA Champions League appearance for the club.

• The Merengues' record away to Swiss opposition is W6 D0 L4. They have never drawn against a Swiss side in 21 matches overall (W17 D0 L4).

Coach and player links
• Paulo Sousa's last UEFA Champions League match as a player was with Panathinaikos FC in a 3-0 loss in Madrid in the 2001/02 second group stage. He also lost 1-0 there with Juventus in the 1995/96 quarter-finals – Juve prevailed 2-0 in the return, which he missed – and helped FC Internazionale Milano to a 3-1 home win over Madrid in the 1998/99 group stage.

• As AC Milan coach, Ancelotti oversaw home (3-1) and away (1-0) wins over FC Zürich in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup first round. With Italy he played against Switzerland in 1988 UEFA European Championship qualifying, winning 3-2 at home and drawing 0-0 in Berne.

• At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, James Rodríguez of Madrid scored in Colombia's victories over Serey Die's Ivory Coast (2-1, with Giovanni Sio watching on the bench) and Yoichiro Kakitani's Japan (4-1).

• Basel's Marcelo Díaz helped Chile eliminate Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos's Spain in the World Cup group stage but then lost to Marcelo's Brazil in the round of 16.

• Kakitani scored past Keylor Navas in Japan's 3-1 pre-World Cup friendly win over Costa Rica.

• Gareth Bale played against Basel for Tottenham Hotspur FC in a 2-2 home draw in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League quarter-final, but missed the second leg, which Basel won on penalties. Bale scored twice against Switzerland for Wales in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying, the matches finishing 4-1 to Switzerland at St. Jakob-Park, where Streller also scored, and 2-0 to Wales at Swansea Stadium respectively.

• Toni Kroos won three of four UEFA Champions League matches against Basel for FC Bayern München, including a 7-0 home triumph in the 2011/12 round of 16.

• Walter Samuel made 30 Liga appearances for Madrid in 2004/05.

• Samuel played with Casillas at Madrid and this tie features other old club connections: Álvaro Arbeloa and Philipp Degen (Liverpool FC), Asier Illaramendi and Sio (Real Sociedad de Fútbol B), and Sami Khedira and Streller (VfB Stuttgart).

Match facts

Basel
• Serey Die completes a two-game ban on matchday five. Derlis Gonzalez and Taulant Xhaka are both a booking away from a suspension.

• Basel have won each of their last four games in all competitions, most recently Sunday's 3-0 home win against FC Aarau.

• Basel are eight matches unbeaten at home, winning six.

• Basel have not conceded a goal in 434 minutes, scoring 15 without reply in that time.

• Streller has missed Basel's last nine games with a slipped disc.

• Streller (June 2016) and Breel Embolo (December 2017) have signed new contracts.

• Substitute Gonzalez converted a last-minute penalty as Paraguay claimed a 2-1 friendly victory against Peru on 14 November. He was sent off after coming on in the closing stages five days later as Peru turned the tables.

• Fabian Frei, winning his fifth cap, scored his first senior international goal to earn Switzerland a 2-2 friendly draw against Poland on 18 November.

• Xhaka injured a thigh during training on Thursday and was ruled out of the Aarau match.

• Ivan Ivanov, out since January with a knee problem, is Basel's only long-term absentee. On 15 September he underwent another operation and is expected to be unavailable for a further six months.

• Marcelo Díaz missed Basel's first three games in Group B as he served a suspension received for his dismissal in Basel's UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg against Valencia CF last season.

Real Madrid
• Ramos is a yellow card away from a suspension.

• Madrid have won 14 successive games in all competitions, scoring 56 goals in the process.

• Five players found the net – including Kroos with his first goal for the club – as Ancelotti's team defeated Rayo Vallecano de Madrid 5-1 at home on 8 November.

• Ronaldo has registered in 14 of his last 15 games in all competitions, 23 goals in total, and in 16 consecutive Liga fixtures at the Bernabéu.

• The Portugal captain scored the winner against Armenia on 14 November, becoming the UEFA European Championship's 23-goal all-time top scorer – qualifying and finals combined – in the process

• Captain for the evening, Raphaël Varane scored his first international goal as France edged Sweden 1-0 in a friendly on 18 November.

• On the same night a lone Kroos goal settled Germany's friendly against Spain in Vigo.

• Isco opened his international account on his first start for Spain, the holders defeating Belarus 3-0 at home in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying on 15 November.

• Javier Hernández was on target twice in Mexico's 3-2 friendly victory against the Netherlands on 12 November.

• On 18 November the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) tweeted that Luka Modrić "will be sidelined for about three months after picking up thigh injury against Italy" two days earlier.

• Bale, Karim Benzema, James, Kroos, Ramos and Ronaldo are among 23 players nominated for the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or. A three-man shortlist will be announced on 1 December, with the winner revealed on 12 January. Ancelotti is up for the men's coach award.