Turin test of Madrid mettle

By Andy Hall

Real Madrid CF take on old foes Juventus FC with some untimely injury worries as they look to continue their pursuit of an unprecedented tenth European Champion Clubs' Cup triumph.

Close encounter
Madrid pulled out all the stops when the two sides met in the Spanish capital on 23 February. In arguably their best performance of the season, only Iván Helguera's first-half goal from a David Beckham cross separated the teams. Madrid merited victory but were unlucky not to have won more convincingly, as Santiago Solari told uefa.com: "It wasn't the result we perhaps deserved. Considering the chances we had, we could have decided the tie."

Madrid motivated
Juventus, meanwhile, left the Santiago Bernabéu clearly relieved their hosts had not been able to inflict more damage and with a result which leaves the tie finely balanced before Wednesday's return in Turin. Coach Fabio Capello said: "It was an incredibly difficult game for us because Madrid are very, very motivated at the moment. Apart from the [UEFA] Champions League, they are chasing the league and want to make up ground on [FC] Barcelona. They are fired up and that makes them even more dangerous than normal."

Season at stake
Barcelona have had the edge on their old rivals in the Primera División this campaign, which has left Madrid with the difficult task of attempting to reduce the gap at the top of the table while staying alive in European competition. The psychological blows of losing to Athletic Club Bilbao and RC Deportivo La Coruña were softened by Wednesday's 3-1 win against Real Betis Balompié but many believe their 1-1 draw at Valencia CF on Saturday could signal the end of their challenge.

Untimely injuries
At the stage of the season when they most need every player fit, Madrid have injury problems to overcome. Right-back Míchel Salgado stretched a knee ligament in the first leg and will not travel to Italy. Coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo has put his faith in left-footed defender Raúl Bravo to occupy Salgado's slot. Furthermore, an unusually cold winter in Madrid has taken its toll with Raúl Gonzalez, Roberto Carlos and David Beckham all recent victims of flu. The England captain also has a back injury to overcome.

Clash of heads
Juventus have experienced similar problems. Pavel Nedved, who was a doubt before the first game with a knee injury, lasted just 37 minutes before he clashed heads with Raúl Bravo. "The injuries to Salgado and Pavel Nedved made a huge difference in the first match," said Capello. "Losing Nedved hurt us because he is the kind of player that can make all the difference in games like this. I'm sure that Madrid will have had a similar feeling about losing Salgado - these are important players for both clubs."

Herculean effort
Luxemburgo's troops will undoubtedly have to put in another Herculean effort to protect their advantage at the Stadio Delle Alpi. Zinedine Zidane and Raúl have been rested and goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who suffered a groin strain against Betis, should be passed fit.

Positive result
Juve, meanwhile, have David Trezeguet back and Nedved has benefited from some time off. Capello concluded: "I thought we played well in the first leg. We put in a good performance and had a few chances of our own. We lost 1-0 but I am confident that we will be able to get a positive result in Turin."