Madrid: Real Madrid's injury worries continue to increase as they prepare for Wednesday's Champions League clash away to Paris St. Germain which should go a long way in deciding which of the two sides will finish top of their qualifying group.
Both football teams have six points from their opening two matches while the others -- Shakhtar Donetsk and Malmo -- have lost both of their games, reports Xinhua.
That means that barring a disaster, both Real Madrid and PSG should reach the last 16 with few problems. But the side which tops the group should get an easier draw next and have the advantage of playing the return leg on their home ground.
Real Madrid travel to Paris on top of La Liga but they will be without Gareth Bale for the trip after it was confirmed that the Welshman had suffered a calf injury during Saturday's win over Levante.
Karim Benzema is also in doubt with a hamstring problem while James Rodriguez is also sidelined. The good news is that Luka Modric, who didn't play at the weekend, should have recovered, while Sergio Ramos will also have recovered for what should be a fascinating battle against Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Atletico Madrid are also in action on Wednesday and Diego Simeone's side can afford no slip-ups when they entertain Astana in the Vicente Calderon Stadium.
Atletico lost their last home game, which was at home to Benfica and on Tuesday Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) fined Atletico 20,000 euros for security defects in the game while Benfica were fined 30,000 euros for the behaviour of their fans, some of whom threw flares at opposing supporters.
Wednesday also sees Sevilla play and Unai Emery's side will take on Manchester City in the Etihad Stadium. It is perhaps Sevilla's most difficult game but they have the slight consolation that City are without star players -- Kun Aguero and David Silva, although the leaders of the Premier League can still call on such talent as Raheem Sterling, Wilfred Bony and Kevin de Bruyne as well as former Sevilla winger Jesus Navas, who will face his former club for the first time.
