A stunning Champions League loss in the middle of a positive domestic run has taken Los Blancos by surprise and Zinedine Zidane’s men are highly motivated to put things straight against Wolfsburg.

One in eight

Real Madrid’s six-match winning run has been snapped with a surprising 2-0 defeat in Germany last week, but Los Blancos still managed to bounce back and continue with strong performances in La Liga. The 4-0 thrashing of Eibar will have been a timely morale boost for Zidane’s men, who will be keen to display an inspiring performance and erase the deficit in order to progress to the semi-final of the Champions League. Real Madrid will be boosted by the fact their bitter rivals Barcelona suffered another blow and ZIdane’s tropps now have fresh hopes of getting back into the domestic title race as well. Winning the eleventh Champions League title still remains a priority, but Cristiano Ronaldo and teammates will need to be on top of their game in order to see of the resilient Germans. Los Blancos will be hoping to continue with strong home performances as they have won in their last four matches in all competitions at Santiago Bernabeu, scoring as much as 17 goals in the process and conceding just once.

Zinedine Zidane will once again have full crop of players to choose from as Raphael Varane and Karim Benzema both returned to training last week. Team’s captain Sergio Ramos missed the Eibar match due to his suspension, but is now getting back in contention for the upcoming event.

Champions League surprise package

Dieter Hencking’s men have perhaps been one of the most surprising teams in the UEFA Champions League. Having topped their group in front of the likes of Manchester United, PSV Eindhoven and CSKA Moscow, Wolfsburg continued to impress in the knockouts as well. Wolves struck a double win against KAA Gent but had little luck with the draw as they were forced to go head-to-head against Los Blancos. Without any fear in the first leg Wolves recorded a 2-0 triumph and find themselves in great position to book their place in the semis. Contrary to their fine international form, Hecking’s troops have been struggling domestically. Currently sitting in eighth place, Wolves are highly unlikely to seal the European qualification berth at the end of the Bundesliga season. The 1-1 draw against Mainz has been just another disappointing result in the line and it will be highly interesting to see if the Wolves will be able to pull off another surprise at Santiago Bernabeu.

Daniel Caligiuri remains a doubt for the Tuesday’s match, but Ricardo Rodriguez and Vieirinha are both in line to make an appearance against Los Blancos. Striker Bas Dost returns to selection and will be at disposal.

Verdict

Real Madrid are keen to make a swift return to winning ways in the competition and I expect them to go hard from the off in order to cancel the result from the first leg. Cristiano Ronaldo is in fine form and is expected to be at the forefront as his team goes forward to clinch their place in the closing stages of the competition.

Top pick: Real to win to nil   2.38 (11/8) @BetVictor

Alternative pick 1: HT/FT Home win   1.62 (8/13) @Ladbrokes

Alternative pick 2: Cristiano Ronaldo to score anytime   1.5 (1/2) @Coral