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Real Madrid vs Benfica live: Team news and line-ups from Champions League play-off

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Real Madrid’s starting XI

Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Ascenio, Rudiger, Carreras; Valverde, Guler, Tchouameni; Camavinga, Gonzalo, Vinicius Jr

Mike Jones25 February 2026 18:46

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Team news

The line-ups will be released any time now, so here’s a reminder of the early team news for both sides…

Real Madrid’s Rodrygo is suspended, while Alvaro Arbeloa is also without the injured Jude Bellingham, Eder Militao and Dani Ceballos. Dean Huijsen is a doubt.

Manager Jose Mourinho will not be in the touchline on his return to the Bernabeu having been sent off during the first leg. Dodi Lukebakio could replace the suspended Gianluca Prestianni.

Chris Wilson25 February 2026 18:40

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Match stats

This is the sixth meeting between Real Madrid and Benfica in the European Cup/Champions League – although Madrid won the first leg of this tie, Benfica are one of two sides they have faced 5+ times in the competition and lost more games (3) than they’ve won (2), along with Milan (P16 W6 D3 L7).

These two sides will meet in the Champions League for a third consecutive game (MD8 of the group phase, first/second leg of the play-offs). It’s the first fixture in competition history to be played three times in a row in the same season.

Chris Wilson25 February 2026 18:30

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Kylian Mbappe ruled out of Real Madrid’s crunch reunion with Benfica in Champions League

Kylian Mbappe will miss Real Madrid’s Champions League play-off second leg with Benfica with injury.

Madrid are leading 1-0 after a fractious first leg in Lisbon which saw goalscorer Vinicius Jr accused Benfica’s Argentine winger Gianluca Prestianni of racist abuse.

Prestianni has been suspended for one game – the second leg – pending an investigation by Uefa. The 20-year-old has denied racially abusing Vinicius and claimed to have been misheard.

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Chris Wilson25 February 2026 18:20

Will Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni play against Real Madrid tonight?

Prestianni was seen holding his shirt over his mouth during a heated exchange with Madrid players following Vinicius’s second-half goal in Lisbon. The Brazilian winger rushed to the referee to report what he claimed was racist abuse.

Chris Wilson25 February 2026 18:10

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‘A disgrace to football’: Vinicius Jr reports racist abuse as Real Madrid match halted

Vinicius had an altercation with Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni after scoring the only goal of the game and told the referee that he had been the subject of racist abuse. The match was then paused following Uefa’s three-step racism protocol.

Chris Wilson25 February 2026 18:00

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When is Real Madrid vs Benfica?

The second leg of the Champions League knockout play-off tie is due to kick off at 8pm GMT on Wednesday 25 February at the Estadio Bernabeu in Madrid.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage on the channel from 7.30pm GMT. A live stream will be available via discovery+.

Chris Wilson25 February 2026 17:52

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Predicted line-ups

Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Asencio, Rudiger, Carreras; Valverde, Camavinga, Tchouameni, Guler; Vinicius, Mbappe.

Benfica XI: Trubin; Dedic, Araujo, Otamendi, Dahl; Rios, Aursnes; Lukebakio, Rafa, Schjelderup; Pavlidis.

Chris Wilson25 February 2026 17:46

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Team news

Manager Jose Mourinho will not be in the touchline on his return to the Bernabeu having been sent off during the first leg. Dodi Lukebakio could replace the suspended Gianluca Prestianni.

Chris Wilson25 February 2026 17:41

Team news

Real Madrid’s Rodrygo is suspended, while Alvaro Arbeloa is also without the injured Jude Bellingham, Eder Militao and Dani Ceballos. Dean Huijsen is a doubt.

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Chris Wilson25 February 2026 17:37

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Sports

Major star claims his relationship is an upgrade from other WWE couples

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A popular WWE Superstar made a massive claim about his real-life relationship. He compared his relationship to that of Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch and CM Punk & AJ Lee.

The star in question is former WWE NXT Champion Trick Williams. He is engaged to fellow SmackDown star Lash Legend. The couple recently made an appearance on Wake Up Barstool.

The host asked the duo what it would take for them to be the number one power couple in professional wrestling, with the likes of Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch and CM Punk & AJ Lee already being there. Trick Williams came up with a cheeky response claiming that he and Lash Legend were like an upgraded version of the other WWE couples.

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“Shout out to [CM] Punk, AJ [Lee], Seth [Rollins], Becky [Lynch]. But you ever put your phone down on the nightstand, and that thing updates overnight, and then you pull it out the next day, and you’re like, ‘Whoa, I didn’t know that my phone could do all this. Look at all these upgrades. Wow, this phone is better today than it was yesterday.’ That’s what happens when you get Trick and Lash,” Williams said.

You can check out his comments in the video below:

WWE Superstar Trick Williams recalled the time Lash Legend friend-zoned him

During a recent interview with SPORTbible, Trick Williams opened up about a hilarious conversation he had with Lash Legend back in the day when they were not dating.

The Anointed One recalled how he got nervous while approaching Lash Legend and forgot what he had planned to say to her. However, he still told her that they could be together. Williams added how Legend turned him down and friend-zoned him instead.

“So, I see her. She’s getting out of her Mercedes-Benz and everything. So I walk up and say, I don’t know what happens, like, as soon as I got to her, I had, like, this great promo in my head that I was gonna drop on her, but as soon as the moment of truth happened, like, no words was coming out. I was like, ‘So, yo Lash, I don’t know if everybody else saying it, but you and me together good.’ And then she friend-zoned me so quick. She was like, ‘Yeah, I heard people saying that, but nah you my homie for real,’” Williams said.

Both Trick Williams and Lash Legend have already impressed fans with their impressive performances on WWE’s main roster. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the beloved wrestling couple.

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If you use any quotes from the first half of this article, please credit Wake Up Barstool with an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.