Real Madrid vs. APOEL: 6 Predictions for Champions League Quarterfinal

Real Madrid could not be happier with Saturday's Champions League draw.

Not only were Real Madrid given the easiest pairing of the draw with their matchup against APOEL of the Cypriot First Division, but their eternal rivals Barcelona were given the hardest pairing against Italian champions AC Milan.

Even in the semifinals, if all four of the higher-seeded teams (Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich) qualify, Barcelona will come up against an unpredictable and reinvigorated Chelsea side. Meanwhile, Real Madrid will take on a Bayern Munich side with one of the team's best offenses in years but a relatively weak defense.

Jose Mourinho likely won't show it, but the young Portuguese legend must be quietly delighted with how the path to the UEFA Champions League final looks for Real Madrid right now.

But, as any good manager knows, all good teams have to take things one game at a time. Before Real Madrid start looking forward to the semifinals, or even the final, they must successfully progress from the quarterfinals.

Here are six predictions for what we will see over two legs between APOEL and Real Madrid.

Real Madrid Will Win the First Leg

Most teams play and perform very differently on the road, but for Real Madrid, that's not the case.

Though Real Madrid have drawn one more away game, their 11-1-1 away league record is one of the best in Europe.

Furthermore, Real Madrid have regularly scored in bunches away from home. They've scored six against Zaragoza and Sevilla, four against Malaga and Espanyol, and three against Valencia, Gijon and Betis this season.

With all due respect to APOEL, they are a weaker than about half of the teams on that list, so I fully expect Real Madrid to beat them in Cyprus.

However, They Will Not Rout APOEL

APOEL's forwards and offense may get the majority of the media attention, but APOEL's defense has been remarkably resolute this season.

APOEL conceded no goals in its first four qualifying games. And in the group stages, APOEL only conceded two goals once (against Shaktar in the final group game).

Even in the knockout rounds, a Lyon team that scored seven goals against Dinamo Zagreb to qualify for the Champions League knockout rounds could only score one goal against APOEL over two legs.

Obviously, Real Madrid have a much more potent offense than any of the teams APOEL have faced in Europe thus far, but having played in so many European games this season, I believe APOEL will keep things tight at the back and prevent Real Madrid from winning by greater than a two-goal margin.

Ailton or Manduca Will Score

Ailton and Gustavo Manduca have scored about 80 percent of their APOEL's goals in Europe this season, and I fully expect one of them to continue scoring against the European giants in the quarterfinals as well.

It's quite remarkable that despite their impressive Champions League form, Ailton and Manduca only have one and two goals to their name, respectively, in domestic football this season.

In any case, their seven and five goals in European football, respectively, more than makes up for their domestic inconsistency. And though I don't expect them to get many scoring opportunities, I can probably see one of them scoring in the first leg to make things more interesting again Real Madrid.

Kaka Will Continue His Resurgence

It really is great to see Kaka become the player we all wanted him to be when he left AC Milan for Real Madrid.

Even though Kaka was not played in the favored central position against CSKA Moscow, he still fared well against CSKA's defense, as predicted.

He assisted Gonzalo Higuain's opening goal, and as has been the case often in recent weeks, his link-up play with Higuain was excellent, providing Kaka with a couple of goal scoring chances of his own.

Even with APOEL's impressive defensive record this season, they are individually fragile in the back line, and I expect Kaka to experience even more success against APOEL's defenders than he did versus Moscow.

Although Angel di Maria is due to return to training soon and is expected to feature at the start of April, with Kaka in top form, he may just find it a bit tougher to earn a place in Mourinho's starting lineup.

Nuri Sahin Will Get a Rare Opportunity to Prove His Worth

Xabi Alonso earned a suspension in the second leg of Real Madrid's Champions League Round of 16 matchup with CSKA Moscow, meaning that he'll be unavailable for the first leg of the matchup versus the Cypriots.

Earlier this Saturday, Mourinho made clear that he was considering either Nuri Sahin, Lassana Diarra or Esteban Granero to replace the Spanish playmaker.

Although they are all quality options, Mourinho would go on to single out Sahin, praising his professionalism and ruling out a transfer in the summer.

With those statements in mind, I'm confident Sahin will be given the opportunity to make a rare start against weaker opposition so as to start developing into a rhythm at Madrid.

Granero is a quality option who is also a great passer and playmaker, but in terms of who Real Madrid are going to want to step up into Xabi Alonso's position when the Spaniard retires or starts to weaken form-wise, Sahin is the man for Madrid.

Sahin has not played since scoring a goal and assisting another in the Copa del Rey, but I'm confident that, having been called up for the squad in La Liga, Sahin will be given the opportunity to show the magic that made him the Bundesliga Player of the Year last season.

Sami Khedira Will Continue to Excel

You may have noticed that Sami Khedira was not mentioned as one of the options by Mourinho on the previous slide.

Why you ask?

Because Khedira has been so good recently that he's cemented himself as first choice alongside Alonso.

Khedira is a fairly decent defensive midfielder, but he's at his best when he's able to contribute to the offense. And that's what we've seen from the German lately.

Against Moscow, it was Khedira who brought it all together for Madrid's first goal in the second leg. His run provided Mesut Ozil with an unmarked target deep in the box, and Khedira subsequently was able to pick out Kaka, who was left with the relatively easy task of getting the ball across to Higuain for a tap-in.

Great teamwork goal, mainly thanks to Khedira.

For the rest of the game, Khedira's passes were on point, opening play regularly for Madrid and cutting out the few counter-attacks that CSKA tried to orchestrate.

This was a continuation of the good form Khedira showed against Espanyol, where he scored, and against Betis, where he regularly broke up Betis' play for Madrid

One of the biggest gaps between Barcelona and Real Madrid is the quality gap between Sergio Busquets and Sami Khedira. If Khedira can keep improving and developing his game, he may be the key to helping Madrid finally defeat Barcelona.