Real Madrid vs Wolfsburg; UEFA Champions League Quarter Final
Real Madrid vs Wolfsburg. UEFA Champions League Quarter Final.
Santiago BernabeuAttendance76,684.
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Real Madrid v Wolfsburg: Zinedine Zidane has full squad to pick from for Champions League quarter-final
Tuesday 12 April 2016 22:15, UK
Zinedine Zidane will have a full squad to pick from as his Real Madrid team attempt to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Wolfsburg at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.
The Bundesliga side sprang a major surprise and took control of the tie by soundly beating an abject Real in Germany last week thanks to first-half goals from Ricardo Rodriguez and Maxi Arnold.
The result was out of keeping with Real's form in domestic competition, where a run of seven consecutive wins has put them back in the title race, just four points adrift of leaders Barcelona.
Real thrashed Eibar 4-0 on Saturday and will require another emphatic win if they are to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the fourth year in succession.
Team news
Karim Benzema is fit again for Real after being forced off in the first leg with a knee injury.
Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Luka Modric and Keylor Navas are all available after missing the win over Eibar.
For Wolfsburg, Sebastian Jung is out with a knee injury, while Daniel Caligiuri is a doubt with a groin problem.
Opta stats
The history books make ominous reading for Real, with only two of the previous 15 teams who lost 2-0 away in a Champions League first leg succeeding in progressing to the next round.
But the Spaniards can at least take solace from the fact they have progressed in all of their last four knockout-round ties with German clubs and have won 29 of their past 34 Champions League games at home.
They are also yet to concede at the Bernabeu in Europe this season.
But, as Real have already discovered, Wolfsburg will be no pushovers. Their 2-0 win in the first leg was their fifth successive win in the Champions League and, in their past 15 games in the competition, they have only been beaten by more than one goal only twice.
Crucially for Real, they should not panic if they are still behind late in the game, because all of their past nine Champions League goals have come in the second half, and four of the past five goals Wolfsburg have conceded in the Champions League have come in the last 15 minutes.
The hosts can also expect plenty of the ball given that Wolfsburg are the only team left in the competition who have averaged less than 50 per cent possession this season.
Betting
Real Madrid are 5/6 with Sky Bet to make the Champions League semi-finals despite their first-leg deficit as just 1/5 to win on the night, with Wolfsburg up against odds of 11/1 for another win against Zidane's men.
The Bernabeu outfit drifted out from 7/2 to 9/1 to win the competition after losing in Germany, while the visitors have been cut from 66/1 to 25/1. Cristiano Ronaldo heads the first goalscorer betting at 9/4 with Bas Dost rated the visitors' biggest threat at 11/1 to net first.
Charlie Nicholas' prediction
"I don't think there's any doubt Real Madrid can do it but I don't think they will. I know the front three are powerful but this Wolfsburg team can sit in and they can hit on the counter-attack.
"I'm not a massive fan or Sergio Ramos and Pepe and Rafael Varane is better than both of them. How does Ramos keep getting into the Euopean team of the season with the amount of red cards he gets? There's always a mistake in them and I see Wolfsburg sneaking through on away goals."
Charlie predicts: 3-1 Wolfsburg and Benzema to score first (22/1 with Sky Bet)