The last two UEFA Champions League semi-finalists will be decided on Wednesday when Tottenham Hotspur welcome Real Madrid to London, while Schalke 04 entertain Inter Milan in Gelsenkirchen.
Tottenham v Real Madrid @ White Hart Lane
First Leg Real Madrid 4 (Adebayor 5’, 57’, Di Maria 72’, Ronaldo 87’) Tottenham 0
Form -Tottenham are currently fifth in the Premier League, 16 points behind leaders Manchester United and three points behind fourth-placed Manchester City in the final UEFA Champions League spot. -Spurs come into this game on the back of a 3-2 win over Stoke City, where Peter Crouch scored twice. -Tottenham’s win over Stoke ended a six-game winless streak. -Spurs have won three of four home matches this Champions League season, including a victory over champions Inter Milan.
-Real Madrid are currently second in La Liga, eight points behind leaders Barcelona. -Real won 3-0 at Athletic Bilbao on the weekend with Kaka scoring a double and Cristiano Ronaldo grabbing the other. -Los Blancos have won seven of their past eight matches in all competitions.
Team news -Spurs welcomed back Tom Huddlestone and Younes Kaboul on the weekend, while Aaron Lennon and Vedran Corluka look to have overcome recent problems. -Peter Crouch is suspended after his first-leg red card.
-French striker Karim Benzema had been in fine form prior to a recent hamstring injury and he’s set to return.
-Defender Pepe will return after being suspended for the first leg.
-Sami Khedira should be back after missing the weekend win due to the flu.
Coaches Harry Redknapp: “The first leg didn’t go our way but it’s a great game to look forward to – Real Madrid at White Hart Lane in the last eight of the Champions League. The fans are looking forward to it and so are the players. We’ll give it our best shot; that’s all we can do. Hopefully we’ll play very well and make a real game of it.”
He added: “We’ve got to turn in a great performance and see where it takes us. You can’t be that open against a team with world-class players. We can’t bomb forward, get ripped apart on the counterattack and get hammered. We’ve got to be controlled and take our chances if they come. Everyone feels the tie is over and we know it will take a miracle, but miracles do happen.”
Jose Mourinho: “Our objective is to get through to the next round. If we were to lose 4-2 or 5-2 we would be in the semi-finals but Madrid don’t go into matches thinking like that.”
He added: “We’re unbeaten [in the UEFA Champions League this season] and justifiably proud of that record. It would be better to maintain that and carry it on into next season. It’s all about improving and keeping the confidence going.”
Sports Pundit prediction; Tottenham 1-2 Real Madrid
Schalke 04 v Internazionale> @ Veltins Arena
First Leg Internazionale 2 (Stankovic 1’, Milito 34’) Schalke 04 5 (Matip 17’, Edu 40’, 75’, Raul 53’, Ranocchia o.g 57’)
Form
-Schalke 04 are currently ninth in Germany’s Bundesliga, four points off the European spots.
-The Royal Blues come off a 1-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg on the weekend.
-Inter Milan are currently third in Italy’s Serie A, five points behind leaders AC Milan. -Inter won 2-0 over Chievo Verona on the weekend. -The Nerazzurri have lost six matches on the road in Serie A this season. -Since Leonardo’s arrival at Inter, the team have improved.
Team news -There are doubts on key defender Christoph Metzelder due to a broken nose, while Angelos Charisteas has a thigh worry. -Jefferson Farfan is out suspended, while Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is out with a knee injury.
-Lucio returns from suspension for Inter, while Christian Chivu drops out after his red card in the first-leg. -Another defender Walter Samuel is ruled out with a knee injury.
Coaches Leonardo: “I wouldn’t say we need a miracle but we know it will be difficult. Who is to say what happened for Schalke at San Siro can’t happen here for us? We have to perform differently that is for sure.
He added: “Some may say it’s impossible but it’s possible to cancel out a four-goal deficit. Either way, we want to produce a great spectacle. Things have to go differently from the first leg and only an outstanding performance will be good enough to see us through.”
Ralf Rangnick: “We’ll play for the win and that’s how we want to go into the match. “We will start with the actual score in mind, which is 0-0. Only half of the tie has been played – it’s half-time now, we may be 5-2 up, but the game isn’t over.”
He added: “I said before this tie that Inter are clear favourites and that we feel good in our role as outsiders. We now have to make sure that we put in a similarly intense display to the one in Milan
Sports Pundit prediction; Internazionale 2-0 Schalke 04