Wolfsburg will lock horns with Real Madrid in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final at the Volkswagen Arena, Wednesday. This is the first time that Wolfsburg has reached the quarter-final stage of the Europe's elite tournament and they will want to make it count.
The German club has a huge mountain to climb as they face Spanish giants Real Madrid, who have won the Champions League 10 times before this season.
Playing in front of a capacity crowd at the Volkswagen Arena will be a little difficult for Zinedine Zidane's men. But not letting the pressure get to them, they should just play up to their potential.
Real Madrid ended Barcelona's 39-match unbeaten run at the Camp Nou last weekend. Their confidence got a major boost after that stunning victory against the Catalans.
But this is the Champions League quarter-final and it is a different ball-game all together. Zidane is wary of Wolfsburg's potential and believes that the German outfit has the ability to hurt them.
"It will be a tough match but we are well prepared. We will approach it like a final, we cannot relax: the win against Barcelona is already forgotten. We are in good shape and the team are focused — that is the most important thing for me," Zidane was quoted as saying by the official website of UEFA. "Wolfsburg have fought hard to be here and deserve to be here. They may have had problems in the Bundesliga, but this is a completely different competition. We are not untouchable and Wolfsburg are able to hurt us. They have a fast attack so we have to be alert."
Meanwhile Wolfsburg has played wonderful football in the Champions League to have reached this far. They are on a four-match unbeaten run in this competition, unlike their poor run of form in Bundesliga, where they are eighth in the league table.
No one ever imagined that Dieter Hecking's men in white and green will reach this far when they had the likes of PSV Eindhoven and Manchester United in the same group. Wolfsburg thrashed Gent 4-2 in the round of 16 to cruise into the Champions League quarter-final.
This is indeed a great opportunity for Hecking's side and they want to 'annoy' the Spanish giants as much as they can in front of their home crowd.
"Since we were drawn against Real Madrid, we've been really excited. Real Madrid have a great squad with top-class players. They are one of the favourites for the title and one of the top clubs in Europe. But we will try to annoy them and I think my team can do that. It won't be enough to just stop Ronaldo," Hecking said.
"We will look for our opportunity, even with this draw, and if we beat Real it would be one of the biggest sensations."
Probable XI:
Wolfburg: Benaglio; Trasch, Knoche, Dante, Rodriguez; Gustavo, Guilavogui; Vieirinha, Draxler, Schurrle; Kruse.
Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Kroos, Modric, Casemiro; Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale.
Where to watch live:
Wolfsburg vs Real Madrid Champions League quarter-final first leg is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. CET (6:45 p.m. GMT, 1:45 p.m. ET, 12:15 a.m. IST) start.
Viewers in India can watch Wolfsburg vs Real Madrid Champions League quarter-final on Ten Action and Ten HD. Viewers in India and the subcontinent can also watch Wolfsburg vs Real Madrid Champions League quarter-final live online on Tensports Live.
UK viewers can watch the Wolfsburg vs Real Madrid Champions League quarter-final first leg live on BT Sport 2, with the live streaming option available on Watch BT Sport.
Fox Sports 2 will show the Wolfsburg vs Real Madrid Champions League quarterfinal live in the US, while the action can also be live streamed on FoxSoccer2Go.
Audience in Spain, Indonesia, Thailand and Australia can watch the Champions League quarter-final game live on Bein Sports, with the live stream option on Bein Sports Connect.
