Real Madrid’s quest for a record 11th Champions League title is still very much alive after recording a comprehensive 4-0 aggregate win over AS Roma in the round of 16. The Galacticos will look to keep the momentum going later today when they lock horns with surprise package Wolfsburg in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie.
Who will grab the advantage in this Champions League encounter? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this mouth-watering clash and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the first-leg match between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.
The dream lives on for Wolfsburg. The German side booked a place in the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in its history with a 4-2 aggregate win over Gent in the round of 16. Not many backed Wolfsburg in advancing to this stage of the competition after being drawn with European heavyweights Manchester United and PSV Eindhoven in the group phase but look at them now.
Wolfsburg’s domestic form have suffered though, since that round of 16 win as they have lost two of their last three Bundesliga matches. They absorbed a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen over the weekend. It won’t get any easier for Wolfsburg later today as they will next face European powerhouse Real Madrid in the first leg of their quarterfinal showdown.
This will be their first meeting with Real Madrid in European competition. A clash with the 10-time champions won’t faze Wolfsburg, though, who are currently in the midst of a four-match Champions League winning streak. The German outfit will also take heart in the fact that they have lost only one of their last seven Champions League games on home soil. That defeat came at the hands of Manchester United back in 2009.
They will have their work cut out for them, however, against a Real Madrid side that is still unbeaten in this year’s competition. For Wolfsburg to record the shock result today, they will need to improve on their play on the defensive end. They have conceded five goals in their last three matches. Wolfsburg will need to rediscover the form that earned them four clean sheets in the Champions League this season.
Real Madrid will head into their quarterfinal clash with Wolfsburg with momentum on their side after edging past Barcelona, 2-1, in a thrilling La Liga encounter at the Nou Camp on Saturday. It was the fifth consecutive league win for the Galacticos who moved to within seven points of their arch-rivals in the team standings.
Ronaldo was the hero for Real Madrid in that contest as he scored the late winner that ultimately ended Barcelona’s 39-match unbeaten run. He has been in excellent form this season, scoring a whopping 42 goals this campaign. Two of those goals came in Real Madrid’s 4-0 demolition of AS Roma in the Champions League round of 16. Ronaldo leads the Champions League in scoring this season with the Portuguese star already nabbing 13 goals this term.
The Galacticos will fancy their chances of getting a result against Wolfsburg today as they have fared extremely well on the road in Europe of late. The Los Blancos have won eight of their last 11 away games in the Champions League – including a 2-0 road win against AS Roma in the last round. Real Madrid will also take comfort in the fact that they have won three of their last four away games against German opposition. The Galacticos have scored an incredible 12 goals during that four-match span.
