Real Madrid are set to welcome Liverpool to the Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team are in a comfortable position, having won the first leg at Anfield by a 5-2 scoreline. It was a brilliant performance from Los Blancos and as a result, they are heavy favourites to go through to the quarter-finals.
Of course, it would be a mistake to consider the result a foregone conclusion. We have seen some incredible comebacks in the Champions League in recent years, with many of them involving Real Madrid themselves.
Thus, Ancelotti’s side should bring their A-game, when they face Liverpool in the second leg. There is some mixed news for them on the injury front of things.
As tweeted out by Mario Cortegana, Ferland Mendy and Karim Benzema have completed the training with the group and both will be available against Liverpool. David Alaba is better but he will not play on Wednesday.
It was in the first leg against Liverpool at Anfield that Alaba picked up an injury. And he has been out of action ever since.
That has coincided with a poor run of form for Real Madrid. They went winless for three games, losing against Barcelona while drawing with Atletico Madrid and Real Betis. They found some form at the weekend though, defeating Espanyol and will go into the match against Liverpool on the back of a win.
On the other hand, Liverpool’s season has been up and down to say the least. They lost 1-0 at the weekend to Bournemouth. But then, they defeated an in-form Manchester United 7-0 in the match before that. Thus, one can only wonder which version of the Reds will turn up at Santiago Bernabeu in midweek.