© EuroFootball.com
UEFA Champions League quarter-finals continue. Yesterday's matches took place in Germany and France, today we will see both games in sunny Spain.
Wednesday's matches should not attract as much attention as yesterday, but the competition will be fierce. "Malaga" will host visitors from Dortmund "Borussia", while Madrid's "Real" players will await a meeting with Istanbul's "Galatasaray".
Madrid's "Real" - Istanbul's "Galatasaray"
In the Spanish capital, at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium, the tournament favorite Madrid's "Real" club will clash with Istanbul's "Galatasaray" team, which has demonstrated excellent play this season. Without a doubt, the royal club is a clear contender to advance to the semi-finals, but the Turks, who strengthened their ranks with famous names in winter, will not give up easily.
"Los Blancos" had a tough journey in the Champions League from the beginning. In the group stage, they had to compete with "Borussia", "Man City", and "Ajax". Although the Madrid team were considered favorites for the first place, they stumbled and surrendered the top spot to the Dortmund team. The quarter-finals were worthy of a final. The "Real" team had to battle with "Manchester United". After a fierce fight, Jose Mourinho's team showed their superiority and advanced.
"Galatasaray" had quite successful draws in the group stage, despite facing the aforementioned team of "Red Devils". Without a doubt, conceding the top spot to the latter team, the Istanbul team settled for the second, although they had 10 points each with the "CFR Cluj" team, they proved their superiority in head-to-head matches. In the quarter-finals, the "lions" faced Gelzenkirchen's "Schalke" and after a dramatic struggle, they managed to secure a ticket to the quarter-finals.
In the country's championships, "Real" is in second place, while "Galatasaray" is in first. In the last matches, the royal club failed to beat the "Real Zaragoza" club away, while the opponents from Turkey easily defeated "Istanbul" at home.
The starting line-ups in the Champions League quarter-finals will remain the same. The royal club has no injured players, so they will step onto the field with the strongest lineup, although the recovering Iker Casillas is still unregistered in the team after his injury. The visiting team from Istanbul, coached by Fatih Terim, also has no major losses, so Mourinho's players will have to deal with the unstoppable Burak Yilmaz, Didier Drogba, and Wesley Sneijder.
"Malaga" - Dortmund "Borussia"
The second quarter-final match will also take place in Spain, but at the fortress of "La Rosaleda". "Malaga" at home will try to stop the advancing players of Dortmund's "Borussia". We cannot consider the Spanish team as favorites, although they will certainly try to compete with the visitors on their turf.
The journey of "Los Boquerones" in the Champions League began in the group stage, where they secured three wins and as many draws. Under Manuel Pellegrini, the team easily won first place with 12 points. In the quarter-finals, the team from the city of Malaga faced a battle with Portugal's "Porto" club. After a minimal loss in the first match, the team rehabilitated themselves at home and advanced to the quarter-finals.
The "Yellow-Blacks" ended up in the "group of death", where they met champions from Spain, England, the Netherlands, and of course Germany. The remaining Dortmund players took first place in the next stage, where they fought with Donetsk's "Shakhtar". Despite a tough game in the first duel, Jurgen Klopp's players did not show mercy on the away team and continued their journey in the strongest European tournament.
There is only one point between "Malaga" in fourth place and "Borussia" in the Spanish "Primera" championship, and it seems that the German team will no longer be able to defend the Bundesliga champions' title this year. On Saturday, both teams celebrated victories and warmed up well before today's breath-taking match.
The line-ups of the Malaga team should remain the same as in the match with Madrid's "Rayo Vallecano". For Pellegrini's players on the field, the still recovering Eliseu will not be able to help. The eleventh of the German champions will also change significantly, although central defender Mats Hummels will most likely be replaced by Felipe Santana due to injury. Both "Malaga" and "Borussia" will be able to play with their strongest line-ups, so football enthusiasts can expect an interesting match.
How will these matches end? The decision is left to you.
