In the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter finals,
Real Madrid host Galatasaray. The Spanish giant are one of the biggest
favourites to win the title. So far this season, they were undefeated at
the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. On the other hand, Galatasaray are also
unbeaten for six matches in European Cups.
Real Madrid is a big favorite against Galatasaray in this Champions
League Quarter Final. Real Madrid knocked out Manchester United of
England in controverial style, but that is now water under the bridge.
Galatasaray went through after beating Schalke in Gelsenkirchen.
Galatasaray is obviously a good side with top notch attacking players
such as Sneijder, Drogba, Yilmaz and Bulut. Now they are up against one
of the true European all time greats. What a Champions League fixture
this is!
Madrid are well behind in la liga with rivals Barcelona top by 13
points so all of Madrid's focus has went to winning this competition.
They arguably got lucky in the last round after a red card to Manchester
United's Nani gave them the empahasis in the match and led to a 2-1
Madrid win. They have an easier tie this round and are expected to
easily dispose of Galatasaray to set up a semi final in what will
probably be Jose Mourinho's last season in charge at Madrid.
Galatasaray defeated Istanbul BB easily at the weekend
and they are comfortable at the top of the league. In the previous
round, they failed to defeat Schalke 04 in Istanbul; but they managed to
defeat the Germans on the road. They have no major injury problem; but
they are without Ufuk Ceylan, Tomas Ujfalusi, Furkan Ozcal and Johan
Elmander. 8 goal scorer Burak Yilmaz is at the top of the goal scorer
list along with Cristiano Ronaldo. Emmanuel Eboue, Wesley Sneijder and
Didier Drogba will also be the main assests of the team with their
experience.
Real Madrid vs Galatasaray
UEFA Champions League - Quarterfinals: 1st Leg
Match date: 3 April 2013
Kick Off Time: 19:45 GMT
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Spain
Match date: 3 April 2013
Kick Off Time: 19:45 GMT
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Spain
Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway)
Possible line-ups:
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Lopez – Arbeloa, Ramos, Varane, Coentrao – Xabi Alonso, Khedira – Di Maria, Ozil, Ronaldo – Benzema.
Galatasaray (4-4-2): Muslera – Eboue, Nounkeu, Kaya, Balta – Altintop, Melo, Selcuk Inan, Sneijder – Drogba, Yilmaz.
Galatasaray (4-4-2): Muslera – Eboue, Nounkeu, Kaya, Balta – Altintop, Melo, Selcuk Inan, Sneijder – Drogba, Yilmaz.