Wolfsburg vs Real Madrid – UEFA Champions League – Preview

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Sreya

Wolfsburg hosts Real Madrid at the Volkswagen Arena on 6th April, Wednesday in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final fixture. With Wolfsburg playing at home first, all eyes are on whether Real Madrid can secure a crucial advantage in the first leg, mere days after playing a difficult El Clasico last weekend.

Wolfsburg are playing the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the first time and a positive result will boost the morale of the squad which has mostly struggled through the current Bundesliga season.

Real Madrid defeated AS Roma in the Round of 16, winning both legs by two-goal margin.

Team News

Sebastian Jung, Paul Seguin and Caligiuri are sidelined through injuries for Wolfsburg while Naldo is doubtful. Rafael Varane is Zinedine Zidane’s only injury concern.

Wolfsburg Possible Starting Lineup: Diego Bengalio, Christian Trasch, Robert Knoche, Dante, Ricardo Rodriguez, Luiz Gustavo, Josuha Guilavogui, Vieirinha, Julian Draxler, Andre Schurrle, Max Kruse.

Real Madrid Possible Starting Lineup: Keylor Navas, Daniel Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Thoughts From Both Camps

“Motivation won’t be a problem tomorrow. We have a big chance to perform on a great stage. Real Madrid have a great squad with top-class players. They are one of the favourites for the title and one of the top clubs in Europe. But we will try to annoy them and I think my team can do that. It won’t be enough to just stop Ronaldo.”

– Dieter Hecking, Wolfsburg.

It’ll be a tough match but we are well prepared. We will approach it like a final, we cannot relax. Wolfsburg fought hard to be here and deserve to be here. They may have had problems in the Bundesliga, but this is a completely different competition. We are not untouchable and Wolfsburg are able to hurt us. More than anything, I want my players to concentrate on their own strengths. It gets more and more difficult round by round but if we work as a team we can win titles.”

-Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid.

Contributor’s Pick

According to Head-2-Head statistics, these two teams have never played each other before in this competition. While Real Madrid have won their last five UEFA Champions League matches, Wolfsburg have also won their last four games in Europe’s premier competition.

Real Madrid have also kept a clean sheet in seven of their previous eight matches. Zinedine Zidane’s side will start as favorites with a 2-1 result in favor of the visitors being the most probable outcome.