CSKA Moscow vs. Real Madrid: Preview, Live Stream, Start Time and More

Real Madrid look to take their recent La Liga success with them into the Champions League next week. They kick off the knockout stage with a match against Russian club CSKA Moscow.

Los Blancos will travel to the Luzhniki Stadium for the first leg, a stadium that manager Jose Mourinho traveled to with Inter Milan when he won the competition during the 2009-10 season.

Madrid dominated the group stage and are firing on all cylinders in Spain. Will they continue their success against Moscow in the first leg of this round of 16 fixture? 

Let's look at a complete preview of this match.

Where: Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia

Watch: Fox Soccer Channel

Live Stream: Fox Soccer 2 Go

When: Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 12:00 p.m. ET

Most important player to watch: Karim Benzema

The only Real Madrid player to start in all six group stage matches was French forward Karim Benzema, who also leads the club with four goals in Champions League play.

Benzema has played very well this season and has been one of Madrid's most consistent forwards. He has good pace. He is also a reliable, quality finisher.

Madrid needs to get an away goal to turn the tide in their favor, but scoring in Moscow as a visitor is tough, so they need Benzema to be at his best on Tuesday.

The Frenchman will be one to watch on Tuesday right from the kickoff.

Key Matchup: CSKA Moscow forwards vs. Madrid defense in final third

The Real Madrid defense needs to play well. It's tough to play in Moscow—goals won't be easy to come by on Tuesday.

Pepe needs to lead the defense against talented Moscow forwards like Seydou Doumbia and Keisuke Honda. Both Doumbia and Honda are talented goal scorers, and are capable of giving Moscow a few goals if Madrid doesn't defend well.

The Moscow forwards have tremendous pace, so Madrid must be cautious when holding their line.

What they're saying

CSKA Moscow winger Ahmed Musa is excited about Tuesday's match against Real Madrid, and the challenge of facing Cristiano Ronaldo.

He said via allAfrica.com:

"

It is going to be a spectacular game. I have come face-to-face with top players but facing Ronaldo will be massive because he is a player who I have been compared to, I want to come face to face with him on the pitch, Musa told MTNFootball.com Tuesday.

"

Prediction: 1-1 Draw

CSKA Moscow are a tremendous club, and many of their players have experience in the knockout stage of the Champions League. 

The Luzhniki Stadium is a tough stadium to play in, and despite all of Madrid's attacking talent, I expect each team to score once and head to the Santiago Bernabeu with Los Blancos having a slight advantage on away goals.