Misfiring Real Madrid hope to have Luka Modric back for their Champions League last 16 clash with Schalke and provide the creativity that they have been missing.
Murmurs of crisis at the Bernabeu have been growing with Real having surrendered their lead at the top of La Liga following a 1-0 defeat away to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday and the focus of the concern has been on their poor form in attack.
With a 2-0 lead from the first leg in Germany, at least the pressure should be off the champions in the second leg against Schalke today and it should be the ideal chance for Carlo Ancelotti’s side to get back on track.
The team has not been able to rediscover their sharpness ever since they crashed to a 4-0 defeat in the derby against Atletico Madrid at the beginning of February.
Since then, they have won just three from six in all competitions and the focus is now on whether the return of Modric can spark the forwards back into life.
“There was too much confusion to what we were doing,” Ancelotti told reporters.
“We were too slow and did not move the ball around well so that there was no space for the forwards.”
Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, the attacking trident who plundered opposition defences in Real’s Spanish record 22-match winning streak at the end of 2014, have now mustered just 15 goals from 14 games.
Confidence among the trio appears low with Bale, who has received whistles from the Real fans for being selfish, now having gone eight games without a goal.
Modric was a key player in the opening months of the season with his clever passing from midfield before he suffered a hamstring injury last November.
With James Rodriguez also in the treatment room, Real have looked predictable in the middle of the pitch and been unable to find an effective link with the forwards.
Modric was keen to face Bilbao but Ancelotti felt it wiser to give him a few extra days to get stronger following his hamstring injury and return against Roberto Di Matteo’s Schalke, who lie fourth in the Bundesliga after their 3-1 victory over Hoffenheim on Saturday.
In today’s other match Porto are almost certain to be without captain and leading scorer Jackson Martinez when they host FC Basel, who are rapidly gaining in confidence.
Basel coach Paulo Sousa, whose side were held 1-1 at home, said they were nearly back to their best following the winter break which saw the departures of midfielders Marcelo Diaz and Serey Die.
The Swiss champions thumped FC Thun 3-0 on Saturday, leaving them seven points clear at the top of the league, with a performance which delighted the Portuguese coach.
“It was an amazing, amazing performance, and I’m really, really happy,” said Sousa, whose side reached the Champions League knockout stage at the expense of Liverpool and are aiming to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 1973/74.
“It means we have come back again to near our best level of performance.”
Sousa, in his first season at Basel after leading Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Israeli league title last term, is on familiar ground as he faced Porto 12 times as a player – seven with Benfica, four with Sporting Lisbon and once with Panathinaikos.
Porto, second behind Benfica in the Portuguese championship, have won their last six league games without conceding a goal and are also unbeaten in the Champions League this season.
However, it remains to be seen how they will fare without Colombia forward Martinez who suffered a groin injury in Friday’s 1-0 win at Braga.
Martinez has scored six goals in eight Champions League appearances this season and is also the leading scorer in the Portuguese League with 17 goals.
Overall, he has scored 86 times in 125 appearances since he joined the Dragons from Mexico’s Chiapas in July 2012.
Round of 16 – second legs
Playing today
FC Porto (Portugal) vs Basel (Switzerland) - 1-1
Real Madrid (Spain) vs Schalke (Germany) - 2-0
Tomorrow
B. Munich (Germany) vs S. Donetsk (Ukraine) - 0-0
Chelsea (England) vs Paris SG (France) - 1-1
Tuesday, March 17
Atl. Madrid (Spain) vs B. Leverkusen (Germany) - 0-1
Monaco (France) vs Arsenal (England) - 3-1
Wednesday, March 18
Barcelona (Spain) vs Man. City (England) - 2-1
Bor. Dortmund (Germany) vs Juventus (Italy) - 1-2