Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Champions League meeting between CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Three-time defending champions Madrid are looking to tighten their grip on top spot in Group G after easing to a 3-0 win over Roma a fortnight ago, whereas CSKA were held to a 2-2 draw away at Viktoria Plzen in their opening fixture.

That will be seen as a positive point for the Russian club on reflection, having trailed by two goals at half time and one goal with seconds of the match left to play. For Madrid, meanwhile, their first match since lifting the famous trophy for a fourth time in five years was a walk in the park. If last term's semi-finalists Roma were made to look pretty terrible, you have to feel for next opponents CSKA and Plzen...

REAL MADRID TEAM NEWS!

STARTING XI: Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Reguilon; Casemiro, Kroos, Ceballos; Vazquez, Asensio, Benzema

SUBS: Courtois, Vallejo, Mariano, Modric, Llorente, Odriozola, Vinicius

There is some big team news as far as Madrid are concerned as Sergio Reguilon comes in for his senior debut. With skipper Sergio Ramos being given the night off for this first European away outing of the campaign, and versatile defender Nacho Fernandez therefore being required in the centre, Julen Lopetegui has put his faith in 21-year-old Reguilon. Despite Raphael Varane alongside him being just 25 himself, he is one of the most experienced centre-backs around.

Nacho continues to fill in for Marcelo, who is still feeling the effects of a niggling calf injury sustained against Sevilla, while Keylor Navas returns between the sticks. Navas now appears to have been relegated, if you can call it that, to Madrid's cup keeper following the summer arrival of Thibaut Courtois from Chelsea. There is a change in midfield, too, as Luka Modric is left on the bench; his place being taken by Dani Ceballos.

We already knew that Los Blancos would be without Gareth Bale tonight after the Welshman injured his calf in the stalemate with Atletico Madrid at the weekend, and Isco is also absent for the time being as he was recently diagnosed with acute appendicitis. That leaves a couple of spots up for grabs either side of Karim Benzema, taken tonight by Lucas Vazquez - his first start of the campaign - and Marco Asensio.

CSKA MOSCOW TEAM NEWS!

STARTING XI: Akinfeev; Fernandes, Becao, Chernov, Nababkin; Bijol Akhmetov; Vlasic, Dzagoev Oblyakov; Chalov

SUBS: Kyrnats, Efremov, Sigurdsson, Nishimura, Magnusson, Gordyushenko, Zhamaletdinov

The big news as far as the hosts are concerned is that Viktor Goncharenko has opted to go with four at the back, as apposed to five, meaning that CSKA will likely attempt to really get at their opponents tonight. Alan Dzagoev, a player who has never truly lived up to the early hype in his career, stars just off Fyodor Chalov in what I expect is a 4-2-3-1 formation. Ivan Oblyakov and Nikola Vlasic will occupy the two wide positions.

Goncharenko has had to contend with a number of injury layoffs in the build-up to this game, with as many as seven first-team stars being considered either out or doubtful. Midfielder Kristijan Bistrovic underwent ankle surgery early last month and is still some time away from a return to action, while Viktor Vasin, Konstantin Kuchaev and Aleksandr Markov also miss out on a place in the squad.

Abel Hernandez is closer to a return but is still not involved tonight, and Khetag Khosonov - who scored the winning goal in CSKA's victory over city rivals Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russia Super Cup a couple of months back - is also absent. Hordur Magnusson is back among the subs, though, and Goncharenko will be confident of getting a few more of his walking wounded back soon. As for tonight, this is still a pretty talented XI.

Real Madrid are without Marcelo, Gareth Bale and Isco tonight because of injury, while skipper Sergio Ramos has been left home to regain fitness. As well as being without that quarter, Julen Lopetegui has also left midfield maestro Luka Modric on the bench this evening, meaning a start for Dani Ceballos in the centre. The big news, however, is that Sergio Reguilon starts at left-back for his senior debut.

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PREVIOUS MEETINGS! CSKA drew 1-1 with Real Madrid in 2012 on the only previous occasion that these two sides met on Russian soil. The Red-Blues lost the reverse fixture of that last-16 tie 3-0 at the Bernabeu, however, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema all registering that night. Los Blancos have lost on four of their previous 10 trips to Russia, but they are unbeaten in their last three and have won two of those.

The home side's point in the Czech Republic a couple of weeks back may prove massive a couple of months from now, as they trailed 2-0 at the interval but battled back through goals from Fedor Chalov and Nikola Vlasic. That was the Red-Blues' fourth draw in eight outings since the start of the season, having also made a slow start to their domestic campaign. After nine rounds of matches, the 13-time champions sit in fourth place.

It goes without saying for a club of CSKA's stature that they would much rather be in top spot than fourth, six point adrift of pacesetters Zenit St Petersburg with two-thirds of the season left to play. They face Zenit in around a month's time, so the message from Goncharenko will be to get maximum points on the board between now and then to remain in with a shout of lifting the title.

CSKA needed four attempts to get off the mark with their first victory in the Russia Premier League, doing so with a 2-0 triumph against Arsenal Tula. That has left them playing catch up, but they beat Orenburg 1-0 on Friday evening to make it three wins in their last four outings, suggesting that they finally have some momentum on their side ahead of his huge European showdown on home soil.

The Red-Blues failed to make too much of an impact in this competition last season as they finished behind Manchester United and Basel in their group. They did manage to nail down third place to drop into the Europa League, though, and they got through a couple of rounds - seeing off a much-fancied Lyon side in the process - before crashing out to Arsenal in the quarter-finals.

DID YOU KNOW? CSKA Moscow won exactly half of their eight European fixtures here during the 2017-18 campaign, but they did lose twice in the Champions League group stage and, excluding qualifying fixtures, it is just two wins in their last 11 outings here. Essentially, then, the 13-time Russian champions tend to struggle against the big sides here.

CSKA are unbeaten against Spanish opposition on home soil, having won three and drawn one of their previous four fixtures, including that 1-1 draw on Madrid's only previous visit here in 2012. The Red-Blues are competing at this stage of the competition for a 12th time, incidentally, putting them on a par with arch-rivals Spartak Moscow in that regard. Goncharenko's challenge is to finish above Roma in second place to progress through to the last 16.

CSKA Moscow sit fourth in the Russia top flight after nine matches and trail leaders Zenit St Petersburg by six points ahead of next month's big showdown. The 12-time Champions League participants salvaged a 2-2 draw from their opening Champions League fixture away to Viktoria Plzen thanks to second-half goals from Fedor Chalov and Nikola Vlasic.

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Real Madrid entered this season's competition as many people's favourites to go all the way, having done so in each of the last three seasons and four of the last five - that is quite some record. The loss of manager Zinedine Zidane and star man Cristiano Ronaldo has to be factored in, though, with the latter so often proving the difference for his side in tight knockout-stage matches over that five-year period of domination.

Others suggested that ex-Spain boss Lopetegui, appointed as Zidane's successor on the eve of La Roja's World Cup campaign, would struggle to motivate his players to do it all again. That could not be further from the truth on the basis of their 3-0 win over Roma last month, as Los Blancos were on top throughout and arguably deserved more than the three goals that they score through Isco, Gareth Bale and Mariano Diaz.

That straightforward win over last season's semi-finalists capped a decent opening month in charge for Lopetegui as, following the disappointment of losing to Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup, Madrid racked up four wins and a draw in all competitions. Then came a narrow home victory over Espanyol to leave them in a very strong position indeed, but it has started to go a little south since then.

Los Blancos were thrashed 3-0 away to bogey side Sevilla and followed that up with a goalless draw against Atletico Madrid - another side they have not exactly had all their own way against in recent times. That may have taken the gloss off the previously impressive start to Lopetegui's tenure, but the good news for Madrid is that Barcelona have gone through an even worse run of form, taking two points from the last nine on offer.

Lopetegui's men are therefore level on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga, and it is worth noting that the first El Clasico of the season will be contested later this month. Before then Madrid must concentrate on picking up maximum points against Alaves and Levante, as well as remaining on course for early qualification from their Champions League group with wins over CSKA and Plzen.

Los Blancos have lifted the European Cup on 13 previous occasions and they are the undisputed the kings of the continent thanks to those three successive triumphs. Madrid have reached the semi-finals or better in each of the last eight seasons, but they have finished second in their group in the last two years, most recently finishing behind Tottenham Hotspur in 2017-18. That surely gives a little hope to Roma, Plzen and indeed tonight's opponents CSKA.

Madrid always come alive in the knockout stage of the competition, beating the champions of France, Germany and Italy en route to last season's final, where they defeated Liverpool 3-1 in Kiev. It is worth pointing out that this season's final will be held at the home of rivals Atletico Madrid - how much Los Blancos would love to reign supreme at the Wanda Metropolitano.

PREDICTION! Madrid may be missing a few first-team regulars for this trip to the Russian capital, but they are still rightly considered strong favourites to make it two wins from two in Group G. Julen Lopetegui's charges made a bright start to their latest Champions League title defence with victory over Roma a fortnight ago, and three more points tonight will see them on the brink of an early qualification for the last 16.

With kickoff now a little over five minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.

Viktor Goncharenko: "A good time to face them? This could be true. But, all of their youngsters are at a high level and want to show what they can do. They had intense matches against Sevilla and Atletico Madrid. Madrid are searching for their game in attack and Bale has been a superior player in recent games. It shows that they have tried to distribute the attacking responsibilities between their forwards. But I can not say, however, that Madrid's attack without Cristiano is better because we have to realise what an enormous number of the goals came from him."

Julen Lopetegui: "We face a strong side on their own patch and there's no bigger motivation than that. When the Champions League hymn sounds, there's no better motivator. We're up against some fine players and it'll be an extremely challenging game because this is the Champions League. It'll be a really tough game against a side of real pedigree. They've got some top players, the likes of [Alan] Dzagoev, and they're sure to put in a big performance."

Home boss Goncharenko admits that this could be a good time to face Madrid, as the Spanish giants have stuttered somewhat in their domestic league. As the 41-year-old rightly points out, though, Los Blancos are strong no matter what side they field, and even in the absence of Bale, Isco, Marcelo, Ramos and, from the off at least, Modric tonight, they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Both sets of players have made their way out on the field at one of the world's most iconic stadiums. Karim Benzema will lead his side out tonight, incidentally, with a few of the other long-serving stars absent tonight. CSKA, as mentioned a little earlier, are going with four at the back tonight. It is a system that they have used before but never, I am informed, in a European fixture.

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KICKOFF:  CSKA Moscow get us up and running at the Luzhniki Stadium. The hosts are looking to get off the mark with their first win in this season's Champions League, but they would no doubt take a point if offered to them right now.

GOAL!  CSKA MOSCOW 1-0 REAL MADRID (NIKOLA VLASIC)

How about this! Real Madrid trail with 66 seconds on the clock in Moscow. Toni Kroos played a sloppy pass, allowing Everton loanee Nikola Vlasic to knock the ball past Raphael Varane and tuck it out of Keylor Navas's reach.

Madrid barely had a chance to settle prior to that shock opener for CSKA. It all came through Kroos's poor pass, but credit to Vlasic for reading it and then making the most of the opportunity so early in the game. The hosts now have to see through the remaining 85 minutes!

GROUP G UPDATE! It has gone 10pm in Russia, by the way, so the kickoff time is not ideal for the hosts. There must be something in the air tonight because Roma lead Viktoria Plzen through an Edin Dzeko goal inside three minutes.

SAVE!  Toni Kroos, looking to make amends for his early error, carries the ball forward and gets away a deflected shot. It was pretty straightforward for Igor Akinfeev to keep out, but that is the first sign that Madrid are ready to go through the gears.

Los Blancos starting to play some nice football now. Their latest attacking move ends with a cross into the centre being slightly overhit for Dani Ceballos, who could not quite direct the ball on target with his headed effort.

Madrid have now conceded a goal during the first half of seven of their last eight away matches, but none have come as early as this Nikola Vlasic strike. It will be interesting to see how Los Blancos respond. They have not really done enough to warrant a leveller in the 11 minutes since falling behind.

Los Blancos are without a goal in their last two games, remember, so that is something they will have to rectify if they are to salvage something from this match. Bar Toni Kroos's long-range attempt, the visitors have offered little so far.

CHANCE!  A good chance for CSKA to bag a second goes begging. Nikola Vlasic exchanges passes with Fedor Chalov, who struck the ball into the legs of Nacho in front of goal. From the corner, centre-back Nikita Chernov got under the ball and header over the bar.

Two chances for the home side in quick succession - if Madrid thought they were going to have an easy night tonight then the opening quarter of this match suggest otherwise. The four-at-the-back system is working well for Goncharenko's side.

SAVE!  All the chances are falling the home side's way! A rebound inside the box is met by Fedor Chalov, who struck the ball well to force Keylor Navas into a save down low. Los Blancos, without a handful of first-team regulars tonight, are stuck in first gear.

The visitors now starting to show a little more urgency with their passes, as they look for an equaliser. Despite being behind since a little over a minute into the game, however, Los Blancos are yet to register a serious shot on goal.

This is promising for the visitors, as Sergio Reguilon is advanced enough to shoot from his left-back position. The shot was pretty terrible, but it was latched on to by fellow full-back Dani Carvajal, who skied his attempt into the stands.

A Madrid corner is whipped into the near post and turned goalwards, where Chalov was waiting to hack the it clear before it could reach the net. The visitors have seen 67% of the ball so far, but it has ultimately counted for little.

OFF THE POST!  The closest Madrid have come to a leveller, as Casemiro is allowed to run and run and run with the ball, before attempting to slide the ball into the bottom corner. The Brazilian almost succeeded, instead picking out the base of the post.

Los Blancos have certainly stepped things up over the last five minutes or so, yet is it CSKA who lead and the visitors who have had the better opportunities since that early opener. Madrid's possession count has now edged to the 70% mark.

CSKA are doing well to keep their shape under some pressure from the reigning champions. The Red-Blues have led since the 66th second of the match and had a couple of opportunities to extend their lead. Can they hold on for another hour?

Casemiro with a pretty terrible effort from 20 yards, making the wrong contact with his shot to send the ball high into the stands. Los Blancos are starting to forget what it feels like to net a goal, having failed to do so in their last two matches.

SAVE!  Nacho's shot from range is technically on target, but CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev barely had to break stride to collect the ball. Before that, a more powerful effort inside the box was blocked by a home player in front of goal.

SHOT!  Karim Benzema is the latest Real Madrid player to get a shot away, sending a curler over the crossbar from 16 yards. By no means a terrible effort, especially compared to the shots from Casemiro and Nacho before him, but more is required from the Frenchman.

SAVE!  Good play from Dani Carvajal, who powers down the right-hand side and gets a decent shot away at the end of the move once being allowed to cut inside. Igor Akinfeev was equal to it at his front post, and CSKA now have just four more minutes to see through before the break.

OFF THE BAR!  Madrid are finally enjoying some sustained pressure in front of the CSKA goal, with the hosts unable to get out of their own half. Karim Benzema rises highest and gets his head to the ball, sending it spinning onto the from of the goal. Carvajal is replaced by Odriozola.

An injury blow for Madrid with Carvajal hobbling off - not ideal when your regular left-back and centre-back are already absent from the squad. Odriozola is not the worst player to have to bring on, of course, and he could provide a threat down the right.

HALF TIME:  CSKA MOSCOW 1-0 REAL MADRID

Rodrigo Becao went down in the final stages of the first half and has to be considered a major doubt for the second half. That would be a huge blow if CSKA were to lose the centre-back, particularly as they have no other real options to slot in alongside Nikita Chernov. The home side lead 1-0 at the midway point.

CSKA opted to go with a four-man defence for the first time in Europe under Viktor Goncharenko, and it paid off immediately as Nikola Vlasic made a breakthrough just over a minute into the match. Everton loanee Vlasic, who salvaged a late point for the hosts in their opening group fixture against Viktoria Plzen, pounced on a stray Toni Kroos pass and tucked the ball out of Keylor Navas's reach.

That was the seventh time Madrid have shipped a first-half goal in their last eight away matches, but of more concern to boss Julen Lopetegui is his side's run of two games without scoring prior to this one. Los Blancos took some time to respond to their early setback here, with Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Karim Benzema all failing to find the target with their attempts.

Benzema would come a little closer later in the half when sending the ball spinning onto the crossbar with his header, while Casemiro's shot from range hit the post on its way through. Igor Akinfeev also had to be alert to Dani Carvajal's shot from a tight angle, with that proving to be the right-back's last involvement in the match before being replaced by Alvaro Odriozola because of a niggling injury problem.

CSKA also had opportunities to extend their lead, however, with Nikita Chernov heading over from a good position in the box and goalscorer Chalov then finding the target with his latest attempt, only for Navas to keep it out. With 45 minutes to go, then, Los Blancos have plenty left to do...

CSKA MOSCOW SUBS: Kyrnats, Efremov, Sigurdsson, Nishimura, Magnusson, Gordyushenko, Zhamaletdinov

REAL MADRID SUBS: Courtois, Vallejo, Mariano, Modric, Llorente, Vinicius

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KICKOFF:  Real Madrid, with plenty to do in this second half, get us back up and running at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Roma doubled their lead late in the first half against Viktoria Plzen in the other Group G fixture; Edin Dzeko once again on target.

Rodrigo Becao is back out for the second half, despite picking up an injury late in the first half - will the heavy strapping on his knee help him through? Luka Modric is already out warming up for the visiting side, meanwhile.

SAVE!  It will surely only be a matter of time before we see Luka Modric introduced. The Croatia international, who played at this ground in the World Cup final recently, would provide a much-needed spark. Marco Asensio's shot from 20 yards is cleanly hit and well saved by Igor Akinfeev.

Three games without a win and indeed without a goal as things stand for Madrid. Los Blancos are well on top now and do look as though they have a goal in them, but CSKA are also being given chances to break away on the counter.

Vlasic loses the ball to Kroos, but Asensio can only send his shot over the crossbar on this occasion. The home side are no longer looking as stable as they once did, and it could be a long half an hour or so ahead for them. A great game for the neutral, this!

CSKA are having to seriously dig deep to keep their opponents at bay now. Lopetegui still has Modric to bring on, which he surely will in the next five minutes, while Mariano Diaz - on target in the 3-0 win over Roma - is also an option.

REAL MADRID SUBS! Karim Benzema works the shooting angle, but the shot is hit into the stands. Here come those Madrid changes - Luka Modric and Mariano Diaz on for Casemiro and Lucas Vazquez. All three changes made by Lopetegui.

An hour on the clock at the Luzhniki Stadium and Goncharenko has yet to use any of his subs. Madrid, by comparison, have made all three of theirs so the eleven players on the field need to make something happen. At the moment they are probing away with little reward.

Toni Kroos picks the ball up 25 yards from goal but is reluctant to shoot, and then his intended pass was a little sloppy. We have an absorbing battle on our hands in the Russian capital, as Madrid throw all they have at their opponents.

GROUP G UPDATE! Cengiz Under has given Roma a three-goal lead over Viktoria Plzen in the other Group G match, so their goal difference has been restored to zero tonight. As things stand, CSKA Moscow top the standings.

CSKA MOSCOW SUB! Alan Dzagoev, who has seen little of the ball in this second half, is replaced by Dmitri Efremov to give the home side some fresh legs in the final third. Jaka Bijol has just been booked for jumping in on Reguilon.

Nearly 25 minutes of the second half played and Madrid, despite being on top pretty much throughout, have just that Marco Asensio shot on target to show for their efforts. A word of warning, though - Igor Akinfeev has kept just one clean sheet in 46 Champions League games.

Marco Asensio blazes the ball high and wide from the tightest of angles when he should have been looking to pick out a teammate. Eighteen Real Madrid attempts now as we enter the final 20 minutes of the contest in Moscow.

GROUP G UPDATE! AS CSKA Moscow regroup here following another disappointing end to Madrid's latest attack, there is news to bring you of another Roma goal. Justin Kluivert has added a fourth to his side's tally, lifting them above Madrid in the standings.

A nearly moment for CSKA, as Dmitri Efremov works the ball onto his right boot 10 yards from goal, but Alvaro Odriozola did well to dive on the ball and block the shot. Up the other end, Akinfeev pounced on the ball after Mariano Diaz missed it.

SHOT!  Toni Kroos was not far away at all with this shot from 22 yards, firing the ball about a yard wide of Igor Akinfeev's target. And with that, Los Blancos have now passed the five-hour mark without scoring a goal - incredible stat!

CSKA MOSCOW SUB! Arnor Sigurdsson is on for Fedor Chalov to help see CSKA Moscow through in these final 10 minutes. Before that change, Jaka Bijol forced Keylor Navas into a decent stop with his well-struck shot from a standing start.

Less than 10 minutes to play at the Luzhniki Stadium and CSKA's supporters must now surely be sensing a shock victory. Los Blancos have had 79 minutes to find a goal, but it has eluded them up to this point and they seem to be running out of ideas.

CHANCE!  This has to go down as a chance for Mariano Diaz, who watched the ball drop over his shoulder before volleying it wide of the target. Los Blancos are on 70% possession for the evening but the key stat, of course, is the scoreline.

SAVE!  Here comes the inevitable Madrid onslaught. Sergio Reguilon gets a shot away, which took a deflection and was heading for the top corner if not for Igor Akinfeev's intervention. The Russian stopper is heading for a rare European clean sheet.

A reminder that Madrid have only failed to score in one of their previous 29 Champions League matches; CSKA have only kept one clean sheet in their last 46 with Igor Akinfeev between the sticks. There is still time for Los Blancos to snatch at least a point.

Another decent opportunity for Madrid, with Luka Modric this time guilty of failing to make the most of it. A poor header from the little Croatia, guiding the cross wide of goal. We are now into the final minute of normal time here.

OFF THE POST!  Mariano Diaz becomes the third Real Madrid player to be kept out by the frame of the goal. The substitute leapt well and so nearly found a way through, but his header struck the left post and was cleared away. Three more minutes to come!

GROUP G UPDATE! Roma have a fifth goal against Viktoria Plzen - Edin Dzeko completing his hat-trick at the Stadio Olimpico. In Moscow, meanwhile, Madrid are not really getting anywhere with just two minutes of added time to play.

CHANCE!  Raphael Varane sends his header into the ground and wide from seven yards. That was a glorious chance for the centre-back, one that Sergio Ramos would have buried had he been on the field. Igor Akinfeev has just been sent off for some reason... it's all happening now!

CSKA MOSCOW SUB! Replays show that Akinfeev was shown two yellow cards for dissent in the space of about four seconds. CSKA Moscow have brought on rookie goalkeeper Georgy Kyrnats, who will unlikely have a save to make on his senior debut.

FULL TIME:  CSKA MOSCOW 1-0 REAL MADRID

CSKA Moscow see through the nine added-on minutes to pick up a famous home win against the European champions! Real Madrid fell behind to Nikola Vlasic's second-minute goal and could not find a response in the remainder. Three times Los Blancos hit the frame of the goal, but ultimately they did not do enough to salvage a point and they slip to third in the Group G standings.

That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from the Luzhniki Stadium. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, and be sure to join us tomorrow evening for live updates from another batch of Champions League fixtures. See you then!