Champions League Round of 16: Week One Preview
Jul 26, 2014; Berkeley, CA, USA; Real Madrid middle fielder Gareth Bale (11) reacts after scoring during the first half against Inter Milan in the first round of the Guinness International Champions Cup at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
FC Schalke 04 (Bundesliga) v. Real Madrid (La Liga)
Where: Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany
When: Wednesday, February 18 2:45pm Eastern, Fox Sports 1
Overview: In a rare rematch of a Round of 16 match-up from last season, Real Madrid and Schalke go at it again. Die Königsblauen look for it to end differently this time as the aggregate score was 9-1 in favor of Madrid last season. Even more motivation for Schalke to exact revenge, Real Madrid thumped the German side at this same venue by a 6-1 margin last time around.
Familiar to Champions League success, Schalke manager Roberto Di Matteo looks to lead another dark horse to raise the title as his Chelsea side won in 2012. Until this past weekend’s defeat to Frankfurt, Schalke had been undefeated in 2015. The improving German side are now fourth in Bundesliga and hope top striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has recovered from a virus that has kept him out of training the past week.
Meanwhile, the defending champions have a plethora of stars to throw on the pitch. The front line of Bale, Benzema, and Ronaldo will likely cause all kinds of fits as they have all season against opposition. After a run of 22 straight matches without a loss to close out 2014, Real Madrid lost their first two matches of 2015. Since then, their only loss came to Atletico Madrid 10 days ago, but most of the troubles are behind Los Blancos as they head into Champions League action.
Live Feed
The Real Champs
Players to Watch: Real Madrid have a superstar at every position on the pitch. The obvious choice here, and yes I know it’s the easy pick, is Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo has an astounding 36 goals across all competitions and has a knack of opening viewers’ eyes at any given moment. Hopefully he keeps his shirt on when celebrating this time around. We get it, you’re ripped.
For Schalke, especially in this first leg, skipper Benedikt Höwedes will be the key. In order to thwart the waves of Real attacks, he must be a strong leader and vocally instruct the likes of fellow defenders Uchida, Matip, and Nastasic. The Schalke back line will undoubtedly have their hands full, but have the ability and skill to hold Real with great discipline and organization.
Prediction: Schalke 1, Real Madrid 2. Schalke will open the scoring shockingly and take a 1-0 lead into the half, but the tired legs from all the defending will catch up in the second. Real Madrid has a history of taking advantage of exhausted opponents (see: Atletico Madrid in 2014 Champions League Final).
Next: FC Basel v. FC Porto