Real Madrid vs. CSKA Moscow: 5 Keys to Victory on Champions League Wednesday

Going into the return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid are overwhelming favorites to make it into the Champions League quarterfinals at CSKA Moscow's expense.

But don't count CSKA out just yet.

The 1-1 draw recorded in Moscow may favor Real Madrid, but only barely. If Moscow can score at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid's away goal advantage will be erased, and Real Madrid will need to score at least two goals to progress to the quarterfinals.

Not an easy task against the second-highest ranked team in Russia.

Here are five ways Real Madrid can ensure that they triumph over CSKA Moscow, and comfortably secure passage to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.

A Disciplined Performance from Pepe

At times, Pepe can look absolutely world-class, breaking up play regularly and making well-timed tackle after well-timed tackle.

And at other times, Pepe can look completely lost, having no clue what he's supposed to do on the field.

Against CSKA, it is important for Pepe to realize that he is much more needed and useful on the defense than on offense.

Real Madrid already have a centre-back who loves to bomb forward and join the offense in Sergio Ramos, and thus need Pepe to be willing to sacrifice his natural instinct to attack for the good of the team.

If he can do that, I expect Real Madrid will be able to record a clean sheet, which would ensure progression to the next round of the Champions League on its own.

Alvaro Arbeloa Needs to Step It Up

When the season first started, Alvaro Arbeloa couldn't buy a game. He was kept on the bench by the likes of Marcelo and Sergio Ramos, who together occupied the two full-back slots at Real Madrid.

Soon after though, with injuries and age catching up with Ricardo Carvalho, Sergio Ramos was moved to the center of defense, opening up the right-back position for Arbeloa. Since then, it's been his to claim.

Here's the thing with Arbeloa: He's never been a remarkable defender. He wasn't the best at Liverpool when he left the club, and he's the worst starter at Real Madrid.

But that doesn't mean he's bad, and it certainly doesn't mean he can't be consistent. On the contrary, Arbeloa was brought to Real Madrid for his consistency in defense, and his ability to be solid without being spectacular.

Recently, however, Arbeloa's solidity in defense has been slipping. He was beaten for pace against CSKA Moscow on a number of occasions, and allowed Betis to score their second goal when he accidentally chested the ball straight into the path of Jefferson Montero. 

If Arbeloa can cut these simple mistakes out of his game against CSKA, Real Madrid should have no problems on the defensive end. And who knows, if Arbeloa's defense is good enough, he might just be able to contribute on offense as well.

Keep Seydou Doumbia Quiet

Seydou Doumbia is by far CSKA Moscow's biggest offensive threat.

In the first leg, his speed and aerial ability posed major problems for Real Madrid's defense, and they were somewhat fortunate to avoid conceding a goal off one of Doumbia's headers.

CSKA have a number of creative attacking midfielders and wingers, but only one true target man in Doumbia. 

If he can be kept quiet, it's unlikely Moscow will pose much of an offensive threat.

Start Kaka in the Middle

I'm not necessarily arguing that Kaka is better than Ozil here. However, what Real Madrid needs more than anything in the second leg is goals, and Kaka is much better in the scoring department than his German counterpart.

It is also important to note that Kaka is much more experienced in the Champions League than Ozil, having won a litany of UEFA awards for AC Milan between the years of 2005 and 2007.

Obviously, his level has dropped due to all the injuries he's faced on the years, but his pedigree and experience gives him a leg up over the comparatively inexperienced Ozil.

Lastly, Kaka has been in excellent form as of late, showing glimpses of his former self. He was nearly unstoppable against Espanyol, linking up excellently with Higuain to score once and record two assists.

He was not at his best against Betis due to being moved out wide, but if Kaka is played in his traditional position as a central attacking midfielder, I expect him to fare well against a defense that is unlikely to give him too much trouble.

Start Higuain over Benzema

Gonzalo Higuain or Karim Benzema?

It's one of the toughest questions in world football, and a question Jose Mourinho has spent most of his career at Real Madrid dodging.

To his credit though, the fact that he's been able to keep these two world-class strikers happy by splitting playing time between them is truly commendable.

For this match, I'm backing Mourinho to pick Higuain over Benzema.

My reasoning for this is simple: Karim Benzema is only just returning from injury, while Higuain has been starting in the team's last three La Liga matches.

In addition, Higuain put in a truly masterful performance against Espanyol just a few days ago, recording two goals and two assists, and followed that up with the opening goal against Betis.

When Benzema and Higuain are both fully fit, I'm usually more inclined to pick Benzema because of the fact that he wastes fewer scoring opportunities.

But going into this match, I think it's safe to back Higuain to follow up on his top-class La Liga performances with a performance good enough to secure progression to the quarterfinals for Real Madrid.