Jose Mourinho's side look to finish the job at the Bernabeu
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu — Madrid
Team News
Real Madrid
Jose Mourinho is likely to rotate his squad with this tie all but over
after the 3-0 in Cyprus in the first leg. He is without Khedira, Diarra,
Carvalho and Coentrao due to injuries but has a big enough squad to
rest some of his first team nonetheless. Nuri Sahin, Raul Albiol and Esteban Granero are amongst those who may
get a rare start, with Real facing a key game against Valencia at the
weekend. Xabi Alonso was suspended for the first leg but returned for the win
over Osasuna, so he could play here, while Angel Di Maria could be
involved in order to get his match fitness up.
probable lineups : Casillas, Marcelo, Varane, Albiol, Arbeola, Granero, Sahin, Ronaldo, Ozil, Kaka, Higuain. (4-2-3-1).
APOEL Nicosia
APOEL have Gustavo Manduca back after suspension and he may come back in on the left of the midfield in place of Solari. Otherwise, APOEL have no new injury concerns and although they have 6
first-teamers who are one yellow card away from a suspension, given the
result from the first leg, they are unlikely to affect this season's
campaign.
probable lineups : Pardo, Poursaitidis, Oliviera, Jorge, Boaventura, Morais, Sousa, Charalambides, Trickovski, Manduca, Ailton. (4-2-3-1).
Head to Head
Match Facts
Real Madrid have won 8 of their last 9 matches in UEFA Champions League.
Real Madrid have scored at least 3 goals in 6 of their last 8 matches in UEFA Champions League.
Real Madrid| Mar 31, 2012 | Osasuna 1 - Real Madrid CF 5 | LIGA |
| Mar 27, 2012 | APOEL Nicosia 0 - Real Madrid CF 3 | UCL |
| Mar 24, 2012 | Real Madrid CF 5 - Real Sociedad 1 | LIGA |
| Mar 21, 2012 | Villarreal 1 - Real Madrid CF 1 | LIGA |
| Mar 18, 2012 | Real Madrid CF 1 - Malaga 1 | LIGA |
APOEL Nicosia| Mar 27, 2012 | APOEL Nicosia 0 - Real Madrid CF 3 | UCL | |
| Mar 7, 2012 | APOEL Nicosia 1 - Olympique Lyonnais 0 | UCL | |
| Feb 14, 2012 | Olympique Lyonnais 1 - APOEL Nicosia 0 | UCL | |
| Dec 6, 2011 | APOEL Nicosia 0 - Shakhtar Donetsk 2 | UCL | |
| Nov 23, 2011 | Zenit 0 - APOEL Nicosia 0 | UCL |
| UEFA Champions League | Mar 27, 2012 | APOEL Nicosia 0 - Real Madrid CF 3 |
Prediction
Real Madrid were made to wait until late on in the first leg before
striking three times to bring a 3 goal lead back to Spain for this
second leg. APOEL let Real have almost all the possession and the
Cypriots did not have a single attempt on goal in the whole 90 minutes,
as Real enjoyed near total domination.
With the tie all but over, Jose Mourinho's main concern may well be to
keep his players fresh, with the season coming to its climax. Real may
be out of the Copa del Rey, but that will only make them more keen to
win La Liga and go all the way in the Champions League as well. Mourinho
will stick with the majority of his first team and hope to have a
couple of goals by half time, so that the end of the game can be played
in an even more relaxed manner and he can bring off anyone with tired
legs ahead of the weekend game against Valencia.
Whatever team is selected, Real should dominate from the off and it is
more of a question as to how many they will win by, rather than whether
they will win at all.
Real Madrid 4 - 0 APOEL Nicosia
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