Fixture Focus - Spurs (5 Apr 2011)

Real Madrid Club de Futbol vs Tottenham Hotspur
(Champions League Quarter Finals, 1st Leg)

This Tuesday, we will be travelling to one of the famous stadiums in Spain – the Santiago Bernabeu, home of our next Champions League opponent, Real Madrid. Throughout our European campaign, this will be our first La Liga opposition.

Defensively, Spurs is literally down and out. We are reduced to just 2 central defenders, Dawson and Bassong, who featured in the game against Wigan just 2 days before. In our middle, however, we have some good news in the form of Bale and Lennon, whom the latter had just featured as a substitute at the DW Stadium, along with Modric, Van der Vaart and Sandro, but Pienaar is ruled out. Huddlestone had just returned from fitness and I foresee that he will be at the bench.

Real Madrid will be without Benzema, Marcelo and “fancy-foot” Ronaldo, (heard the latest news that CR7 will eventually start against us). For sure that Higuain will play, as well as ex-Chelsea man Carvalho, who will have the task to stop Crouch, a likely starter. Over the weekend, Real had lost to Sporting Gijon, which marked the “Special One’s” first home defeat in 9 years.

After a slew of horrendous showing against the 3 teams from the bottom of the EPL (which ironically, all began with the letter “W”), it is time to pick ourselves up again. I believe this is it (although I may sound a bit delusional here).

COYS!!!!!