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Real, Atletico play in Champions League with eye on Madrid derby (Preview)

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Madrid: Spanish sides Real and Atletico Madrid will make changes to their starting line-ups when they play their respective Champions League matches on Wednesday night.

The ever-feisty Madrid derby between the two teams in La Liga is scheduled to be played on Sunday and both coaches will look to keep their stars players fresh, reports Xinhua.

Real Madrid face what should be a relatively straightforward trip to play Swedish side Malmo and coach Rafael Benitez is not taking any risks with the injured quintet of Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez, Pepe, Danilo and Gareth Bale, who should all be fit for Sunday’s encounter.

Striker Jese Rodriguez has been included after overcoming a calf injury, while Benitez could also consider giving goalkeeper Kiko Casilla a competitive debut, while giving a rest to midfielder Tony Kroos.

Atletico meanwhile are at home to Portuguese side Benfica in a game which could decide who eventually wins their qualifying group. Atletico won their opening game away to Turkey’s Galatasaray, but looked flat and off the pace as they slipped to a 0-1 league defeat away to fellow Spanish side Villarreal on Saturday.

Coach Diego Simeone could make some changes with Angel Correa starting in attack and Jackson Martinez, who has disappointed so far this season, dropping to the bench.

Midfielder Koke is still unlikely to be fit for Atletico, but Juanfran will be back at right back, while Stefan Savic could be back in central defence.

Benfica have several former Atletico players, such as Mexican striker Raul Jimenez and he, along with forwards Pizzi and Silvio, will be highliy motivated for the game.

Finally, Sevilla will hope that their first league win of the season will give them the morale boost as they travel to face Italian Champions Juventus, who are suffering a poor start to the season.

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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia

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The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.

Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.

Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”

Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.

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