Betdistrict.com
Real Madrid will have a mountain to climb in this Champions League quarterfinal after the shock 0-2 loss in Germany against Wolfsburg, but Los Blancos will draw confidence from their recent performances at home.
Real went to Germany in great form and on the back of a 2-1 win at Camp Nou, but they played a poor match and are now in a world of trouble. Yes, that match could have gone in a different way as there were some questionable calls at 0-0 (possible Real penalty, disallowed goal), but still Real should have performed better. The hangover after the El Clasico win might have had something to do with it. On the bright side, Zidane’s side recovered well to defeat Eibar 4-0 over the weekend, despite the fact that Zidane used heavy rotation. It was the 7th win for Real in the last 8 matches (all competitions).
The victory over Real Madrid was Wolfsburg’s only win in the last 5 matches, which made the result that much more shocking. The Germans are having a poor season domestically and did not play well lately, but they somehow found their best form for the 90 minutes over Real – something which they definitely need to do again in the reverse leg. Wolfsburg is on the back of a 1-1 home draw against Mainz, surprisingly resting only a couple of guys.
Bet on Real Madrid – Wolfsburg with the best Champions League odds at 1xBet now!
Team news & lineups:
Zinedine Zidane has a full squad to choose from and he will field his best lineup here. Wolfsburg can’t count on Jung, while Caligiuri is a big doubt.
Real Madrid: Navas – Carvajal, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo – Kroos, Casemiro, Modric – Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo
Wolfsburg: Benaglio – Vieirinha, Naldo, Dante, Rodriguez – Guilavogui, Gustavo – Henrique, Arnold, Draxler – Schurrle
The way Real Madrid is playing right now, you have to feel that the result in Germany was an accident. This time, Los Blancos will be more focused and also much more fresh than in the first leg, when the players were drained emotionally and physically after that win against Barcelona.
The most important factor though will be home court advantage. Even in the recent spell of success, Real was a much, much better team at home, where they put on show after show, as opposed to grinding out wins on the road. Real won 11 out of the last 12 home games in all competitions, all of them by 2 or more goals difference. The last 4 results at Camp Nou were 7-1, 2-0, 4-0 and 4-0.
Wolfsburg are in poor form but I expect them to again raise their level in the Champions League. However, even their best will likely not be enough at Bernabeu. I expect Real to qualify, but my tip will be Real Madrid to win with a 2 goal asian handicap, a safer option, which gives us an out in case Wolfsburg manages to resist for a 0-2, 1-3 or 2-4. Prediction: Real Madrid – Wolfsburg 3-0.
Pick: Real Madrid (-2 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.77 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 6.16
Event date: 12 April
