Real Madrid will continue their pursuit of an 11th European Cup when they travel to Wolfsburg for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday night.
The Spanish giants have reached the last-eight stage of this competition for the sixth season in a row, but this is Wolfsburg's first appearance in the knockout round of the Champions League in just their second ever campaign.
Wolfsburg
© AFPNot many backed Wolfsburg to make it out of their Champions League group this season after being drawn with PSV Eindhoven and Manchester United, but the German outfit topped Group B with 12 points, before booking their spot in the quarter-finals with a 4-2 aggregate success over Gent in the last round.
Somewhat surprisingly, this is only Wolfsburg's second Champions League campaign following their 2009-10 debut and they have reached the knockout stage of the competition for the first time. They have previously been in three European quarter-finals, but they were all in the Europa League - the last of which came against Italian side Napoli last season.
Wolfsburg have never tackled Real Madrid in European competition, but they beat Villarreal in the 2009-10 Europa League round of 32 when they last locked horns with Spanish opposition. They are also currently on their longest winning run in the Champions League, which stands at four straight fixtures.
What's more, the Bundesliga side have only lost one of their last seven Champions League games on home soil and that was against Manchester United in 2009. They did receive a fairly favourable last-16 draw against Gent, but won both matches - including a 1-0 victory in this stadium to advance.
Dieter Hecking's side, however, have not recorded a victory since beating Gent in the second leg of their last-16 clash. Since then, they have played three Bundesliga matches - suffering two defeats, the last of which was a 3-0 loss at Bayern Leverkusen on Friday night. As a result, they currently sit eighth in the Bundesliga table with just six games of the season left to play.
With respect to Wolfsburg, they are the team that the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona would have wanted to draw in this stage of the competition. They are the overwhelming underdogs against the 11-time European Cup winners, but a strong first-leg result would hand them a chance ahead of the return in the Spanish capital next week.
Recent form: WLWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWLDL
Real Madrid
© AFPReal Madrid will enter Wednesday's European clash in Germany full of confidence after ending Barcelona's 39-game unbeaten run on Saturday night. A 2-1 victory at Camp Nou saw Los Blancos boost their hopes of catching the Catalan outfit in La Liga and made it six straight wins in all competitions for the Madrid giants.
It is unlikely that Real Madrid will be able to overcome Barcelona to win the Spanish title, but they will be confident of challenging for an 11th European Cup after being handed a favourable draw in the quarter-finals. This is the sixth season in a row that Los Blancos have made the final eight and they have won each of their last five quarter-final ties.
Los Blancos have also won eight of their last 11 away games in the Champions League - including a 2-0 victory against Roma in the last round. After topping Group A ahead of Paris Saint-Germain, Zinedine Zidane's side made light work of Roma - recording a 4-0 aggregate victory to ease into the final eight.
Real Madrid have actually won three of their last four away games against German opposition, meanwhile, and netted 12 times in the process. They have progressed in each of their last four Champions League knockout encounters with Bundesliga opposition, with Borussia Dortmund the last German team to beat them in a two-legged European affair.
As touched upon, Saturday's victory against Barcelona was Real Madrid's sixth straight success in all competitions since they lost 1-0 at home to Atletico Madrid at the end of February. They are still seven points off the top of La Liga, but with key players now returning, it is looking a lot healthier for the Spanish giants.
Real Madrid's overall European Cup quarter-final record is played 32, won 26 and lost six. They are also one of only two sides - the other being Barcelona - to still be unbeaten in this season's competition. Wolfsburg was a kind draw for Los Blancos, but they cannot afford to underestimate the tricky Germans.
Recent form: DWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Team News
© Getty ImagesWolfsburg will be without the services of Sebastian Jung, who has a knee problem, while Daniel Caligiuri (groin) and Bas Dost (foot) are both seen as doubtful for the Bundesliga team.
Naldo is also out for the season with a shoulder problem, and a calf injury is expected to keep Maximilian Arnold on the sidelines. Skipper Diego Benaglio, however, who has not played since the start of February, has recovered from a rib problem and should feature.
As for Real Madrid, head coach Zidane has no fresh injury concerns from the victory over Barcelona at the weekend.
Raphael Varane is once again expected to miss out with a calf problem, which should see Sergio Ramos and Pepe start at the heart of the defence.
Casemiro's impressive Camp Nou performance should see the Brazilian keep his spot in the team in central midfield, leaving Isco and James Rodriguez on the bench once again.
Further forward, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema have both trained this week after coming through the Barcelona match unscathed and will join Cristiano Ronaldo in the final third once again.
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Benaglio; Trasch, Knoche, Dante, Rodriguez; Gustavo, Guilavogui; Vieirinha, Draxler, Schurrle; Kruse
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Navas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Kroos, Modric, Casemiro; Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale
Head To Head
Wednesday will be the first ever meeting between the two teams and only Wolfsburg's fifth game against Spanish opposition.
The German outfit have lost twice against Real Madrid's capital rivals Atletico, but beat Villarreal in their most recent clash with La Liga opposition, which came in 2010.
Real Madrid's overall European record against German opposition is won 28, drawn 10 and lost 22 and only four of those victories have come away.
We say: Wolfsburg 0-2 Real Madrid
Wolfsburg have had longer to prepare for this match and Real Madrid did put a lot of energy into their league match with Barcelona at the weekend, especially in the second period. That said, Wolfsburg are slightly out of their depth at this stage of the competition and a confident Real Madrid team should have more than enough to record a comfortable first-leg success.
