Real Madrid vs Fenerbahce 31/08/19

31 July 2019

The two sides that have failed to fight their way into the 2019 Audi Cup Final go head-to-head at the Allianz Stadium in the third-place play-off as Real Madrid take on Fenerbahce.

Unable to find a way out of a severe crisis, Los Blancos were edged out by Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the semi-finals, which was their third defeat in four summer friendlies (W1, L3). Real’s defensive frailties have seen them concede 13 goals across those matches, allowing over 1.5 match goals three times in the process. Another worrying fact for Zinedine Zidane is his team’s attacking output in the first half. Los Merengues have struggled to find the net before the halftime whistle in all five of their previous outings, scoring a total of six goals in the second period though. A run of poor form has seen La Liga giants pick up just two wins after 90 minutes in their last ten games (W2, D2, L6), with Zidane’s men netting one goal or less six times along the way.

Meanwhile, the Audi Cup debutants were stunned by Bayern Munich in the semi-finals, suffering a disastrous 6-1 defeat. It was Fenerbahce’s third straight summer friendly in which they’ve failed to secure a win (D1, L2), and also the third consecutive that has seen both teams score. Although the Yellow Canaries pulled off two wins during the off-season, both of those triumphs have come against domestic rivals, and both have ended with the identical 2-0 scoreline. Still, if the Turkish outfit do manage to clinch a win here, it will probably see them score two or more goals, as 11 of their 13 victories since the turn of the year witnessed Ersun Yanal’s men bag 2+ match goals.