Real Madrid vs Salzburg facts

Real Madrid will look to continue to climb up the UEFA Champions League table on Matchday 7 as they welcome Salzburg, whose prospects of progressing to the knockout phase are increasingly precarious.

The holders were 3-2 winners at Atalanta on Matchday 6 – a repeat of August's UEFA Super Cup, another Madrid victory (2-0) – but have also suffered three defeats in this season's league phase and have nine points.

Salzburg, who replaced coach Pep Lijnders with Thomas Letsch – who had a brief spell in charge in 2015 – on 18 December, have lost five of their six games, including 0-3 at home to Paris Saint-Germain on Matchday 6; their sole success is a 3-1 victory at Feyenoord on Matchday 4.

This is the clubs' first meeting, and Madrid's first game against an Austrian club in the 21st century.

Form guide

Real Madrid

Record vs Austrian clubs: W13 D6 L4 F60 A22
Home record vs Austrian clubs: W10 D1 L1

This is Madrid's first fixture against a club from Austria since beating Sturm Graz 6-1 at home and 5-1 away in the 1998/99 group stage.

That made it three successive victories against Austrian clubs, with 14 goals scored and only two conceded, and six games unbeaten (W4 D2) since a 2-0 loss at Wacker Innsbruck in the 1984/85 UEFA Cup first round second leg, a tie Madrid won 5-2 on aggregate. That is Madrid's only defeat in their last 15 games against Austrian clubs (W9 D5).

Wacker Innsbruck also inflicted Madrid's only home defeat by an Austrian club, winning 1-0 in the 1970/71 European Cup Winners' Cup second round first leg – although the Spanish side prevailed 2-1 on aggregate. That is one of only two home games against Austrian visitors Madrid have not won, with five successive victories – and 26 goals scored – since a 0-0 draw at home to SK Rapid Wien in the 1981/82 UEFA Cup third round second leg (1-0 agg).

Madrid claimed their record-extending 15th European Cup in 2023/24 with a 2-0 final victory against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.

Carlo Ancelotti's side had finished top of their section after winning all six group games for a record-equalling third time. Leipzig were overcome in the round of 16 (1-0 a, 1-1 a) before epic ties against holders Manchester City (3-3 h, 1-1 a, 4-3 pens) and Bayern München (2-2 a, 2-1 h).

Madrid are in the Champions League proper for the 29th time in 2024/25, a competition record they share with Barcelona. They last missed out in 1996/97 and have qualified for the knockout rounds in all 28 campaigns.

The Spanish side have won 19 of their last 26 home European games (D4 L3), the 1-3 defeat by AC Milan on Matchday 4 ending a 16-match unbeaten run (W13 D3).

The Merengues claimed their second La Liga championship in three years and 36th overall in 2023/24.

Salzburg

Record vs Spanish clubs: W5 D4 L13 F18 A34
Away record vs Spanish clubs: W1 D4 L6

Salzburg were drawn alongside Real Sociedad in last season's group stage, losing 0-2 at home on Matchday 2 before a 0-0 draw in Spain on Matchday 5.

Salzburg's Matchday 1 game at Sevilla in the 2021/22 Champions League group stage ended 1-1 but featured four penalties, a new record for a Champions League match. Three were awarded to Salzburg, all in the first half.

The Austrian club reached the round of 16 for the first time thanks to a 1-0 home defeat of Sevilla on Matchday 6. That is their only win in eight games against Liga opponents, home and away (D2 L5).

Salzburg's sole win in Spain is a 1-0 victory at Villarreal on Matchday 6 of the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League.

Having not featured in the group stage between 1994 and 2019, Salzburg are making their sixth successive appearance in the Champions League proper.

The Austrian side were fourth in Group D in 2023/24, picking up four points (W1 D1 L4) in a section that also included Real Sociedad, Inter Milan and Benfica.

Salzburg started this season's Champions League campaign in the third qualifying round, beating Twente (2-1 h, 3-3 a) before overcoming Dynamo Kyiv in the play-offs (2-0 a, 1-1 h).

The win at Feyenoord on Matchday 4 was one of only three in Salzburg's last 16 European away games (D5 L8); they have also lost at Sparta Praha (0-3) and Bayer Leverkusen (0-5) this season.

That victory was also only Salzburg's fifth in 22 away matches in the Champions League proper (D6 L11) and the second in 13 (D4 L7).

Salzburg had their run of ten successive Austrian Bundesliga titles ended by Sturm Graz in 2023/24.

Links and trivia

Ancelotti was in charge of the Napoli side that beat Salzburg in the 2018/19 Europa League round of 16 (3-0 h, 1-3 a) and took four points off the Austrian side in the following season's Champions League group stage (3-2 a, 1-1 h).

Has played in Austria:
David Alaba (Austria Wien youth 2006–09)

Has played in Spain:
Kamil Piatkowski (Granada 2023/24 loan)

International team-mates:
David Alaba & Alexander Schlager (Austria)

Salzburg's Stefan Bajcetic is a Spain Under-21 international having been born and raised in Vigo, when his father Srdjan moved to Spain to play for Celta.

Latest news

Real Madrid

On Sunday Madrid came from behind to win 4-1 at home to Las Palmas and go top of La Liga.

Kylian Mbappé scored twice and has four goals in his last three games in all competitions; the Frenchman is Madrid's top scorer this season with 18.

Madrid reached the Copa del Rey quarter-finals with a 5-2 extra-time win at home to Celta Vigo on 16 January, a game in which they led 2-0 until the 83rd minute. The decisive goals all came in the second half of extra time, from Endrick (2) and Federico Valverde.

Real Madrid lost the Spanish Super Cup final on 12 January, going down 5-2 to Barcelona. Three days earlier, they had beaten Mallorca 3-0 in the semi-finals.

The loss to Barcelona is Madrid's only defeat in their last 11 games (W9 D1), scoring 37 goals in that run.

Rodrygo scored in both the semi-final and final of the Spanish Super Cup and has six goals in his last eight games; he was also on target on Sunday.

Jude Bellingham did not score in his first 12 Madrid appearances this season but, since opening his account on 9 November in a 4-0 win against Osasuna, has nine in his last 15.

David Alaba came on as a substitute on Sunday, his first appearance since suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in December 2023.

Eduardo Camavinga missed the weekend win with a hamstring injury.

Éder Militão suffered a fractured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against Osasuna on 9 November and will not play again this season.

Dani Carvajal suffered a serious knee injury in the match against Villarreal on 5 October and is expected to be out for the whole season.

Salzburg

This is Salzburg's first competitive game of 2025, and a first since a 3-0 Austrian Bundesliga victory at home to Klagenfurt on 14 December.

That was only Salzburg's second win in eight games in all competitions (D2 L4) and one of only five in 16 matches (D4 L7).

It proved to be Pep Lijnders' last game in charge; he departed two days later, with Thomas Letsch named as his replacement on 18 December.

Salzburg have failed to score in ten of their last 20 games in all competitions.

Salzburg have lost four league games this season, one less than in the whole of 2023/24.

Letsch's first game in charge was a 6-0 friendly loss against Bayern München on 6 January; Salzburg subsequently went down 3-2 against Midtjylland on 15 January.

Karim Konaté tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee at Leverkusen on Matchday 5.

Maurits Kjærgaard suffered an ankle injury in a 0-0 draw at Wolfsberg on 27 October and has not played since after an operation.

Kamil Piątkowski suffered a thigh injury in a 4-0 victory against Hartberg on 4 December; he returned as a substitute against Midtjylland and was himself replaced in added time.

Kjærgaard signed a contract extension until 2028 on 20 December.

On 2 January Salzburg announced the arrival of striker Karim Onisiwo from Mainz on an 18th-month deal; the 32-year-old scored his first Salzburg goal against Midtjylland.