Schalke 04 vs Real Madrid – Real Madrid to win it 2-0 – Schalke won’t fold like they did last time they played Real but the Galaticos should win this one with plenty to spare.
Preview
In what is a repeat of last year’s round of 16 match Schalke will host Real Madrid once again at the Veltins-Arena.
Schalke will be trying to forget the thrashing they got at the hands of Real Madrid last time. Schalke lost 6-1 at home in the first leg and then lost the 2nd leg away 3-1.
Real Madrid
The Portuguese is on a rare goalless run, will Ronaldo come back to form here?
Madrid will resume their Champions League title defence as they take on Schalke on Wednesday. Real Madrid were dominant in their group winning 6 matches versus Liverpool, Basel and Ludogorets Razgrad.
Form wise Madrid have been in good touch winning 5 out of their last 6 matches but the lone defeat among them was a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of their arch rivals Atletico Madrid.
The defeat resulted in Real Madrid’s lead at the top of the La Liga being cut down to just 1. James Rodriguez, Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric will certainly be missing for the Galaticos but Pepe might make his comeback to the team.
The last time these two teams met at this stage Real Madrid thrashed Schalke 6-1 with braces from Benzema, Gareth Bale and Ronaldo, who´s rumors of a possible transfer to Manchester United increase every day. The lone goal for Schalke was scored by Huntelaar.
Schalke 04
Klass-Jan Huntelaar
Schalke earned themselves a spot in the knock-out rounds after finishing second in their group behind Chelsea, who parked the bus against PSG yesterday while some of its fans got involved in a racism act at Paris Metro. They had a record of two wins, two draws and two defeats in the group stages.
Schalke come into this match on the back of the 1-0 victory over domestic rivals Eintracht. They remain 4th in the Bundesliga two points behind an automatic Champions League group stage qualification.
Schalke have been hard done by the number of injuries they have suffered which include the likes of Julian Draxler, Sead Kolasinac, Leon Goretzka, Jefferson Farfan and Chinedu Obasi.
Schalke will be hoping that Huntelaar will be fit to face Madrid after he missed training with the flu. Roberto Di Matteo might hand the 19yr old keeper Timon Wellenreuther a Champion’s league debut if Fabian Gieter doesn’t recover in time.
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