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Champions League offers Real Madrid chance to rebuild confidence

Xinhua, March 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

Real Madrid have the chance to put a turbulent 10 days behind them when they entertain Schalke 04 in the return leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday night.

Real Madrid are clear favorites to progress into the quarterfinals following their 2-0 win in Germany three weeks ago. That leaves Schalke with a mountain to climb in the Bernabeu and their coach, Roberto Di Matteo, has already admitted his side needs "to produce a perfect display," in order to have any chance of qualifying.

However, this could be the best moment of the season to face Real Madrid, who are reeling in the Spanish Liga after taking just one point from their last two matches, a 1-1 draw at home to Villarreal and last Saturday's 1-0 defeat away to Athletic Club Bilbao.

Those results have seen Carlo Ancelotti's side lose the league leadership to bitter rivals FC Barcelona and although there is still a long way to go, the feeling is that there is something not quite right in the Real Madrid camp.

Ancelotti's side seems to lack the freshness that it showed in the first half of the season with strikers Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema all below par. In Ronaldo's case it could be down to his long-running knee problem, while Bale looks to have been affected by criticism which said he was too greedy in front of goal. Meanwhile in an interview with Be-in sports, Benzema implied he was unhappy to be the first person to be singled out for criticism by the fans when things don't work out.

While the strikers have seen their form dip, Ancelotti's main problem is probably in midfield where injuries to James Rodriguez and Luka Modric, coupled with a lack of confidence in Sami Khedira and Asier Illaramendi mean that Tony Kroos has not had a rest all season and is starting to look tired, something that could also be said of Isco, who also looks as if he needs a break.

Modric will be back soon and could even have some minutes on Tuesday, which would be a good idea as it would not only give him some much needed game time, but also raise the atmosphere in a Bernabeu Stadium where nerves are just starting to appear. Endi