Real Madrid vs. Wolfsburg: Areas Where the Tie Will Be Won and Lost
Real Madrid and Wolfsburg will meet again on Tuesday, with the sides set to do battle in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie at the Santiago Bernabeu.
After pulling off a shock 2-0 victory in the first leg last Wednesday at the Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg arrive for this clash with an enormous and unforeseen opportunity to progress into Europe's final four.
Indeed, when this draw was made, it looked extremely favourable for Madrid; when Zinedine Zidane's men triumphed in the Clasico before heading to Germany, it felt even more so.
But not now.
Now, Tuesday's hosts require a strong comeback to keep their season alive, while Wolfsburg need only a draw or perhaps as little as one away goal.
Across the following slides, we examine some of the areas and factors that will shape Tuesday's clash.
Real Madrid's Composure in Opening 20 Minutes
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Facing a two-goal deficit with their season on the line, Real Madrid will be eager to immediately impose themselves on Wolfsburg at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.
For Zidane's men, that will likely translate into familiar sights: relentless attacks, a flurry of shots, men thrown forward and the full-backs bombing on.
The danger for the hosts, however—and the encouragement for the visitors—is that the desire to reel Wolfsburg in rapidly could eat away at their composure and see a sense of desperation creep in too quickly. As Madrid have repeatedly shown, when that happens they become disjointed, lose their control and shape and become extremely vulnerable to counter-attacks—the tool the Germans will look to use once more.
Given that Wolfsburg need only one goal to force Madrid into needing four, a lot could depend on whether Madrid can keep their composure and discipline in the opening 20 minutes and prevent the contest from becoming a chaotic, end-to-end affair with chances at both ends right from the outset.
Julian Draxler vs. Dani Carvajal
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Julian Draxler was in sparkling form when these sides met at the Volkswagen Arena last week.
Flying up the left flank, the young German terrorised Real Madrid right-back Danilo, exposing the defensive flaws in the Brazilian's game to become his side's key weapon in a scintillating performance.
In the buildup to Wolfsburg's opener, it was Draxler who beat Danilo to get to the byline before crossing to Andre Schurrle. It was also Draxler who created the hosts' second when cutting inside from the left and breezing past a number of Los Blancos.
Thanks to his destructive runs, the scoreboard could easily have gotten more lopsided, too.
Consequently, it's almost certain that Zidane will revert to Dani Carvajal at right-back, with the Spaniard used against Eibar on Saturday in a switch that suggested as much. Faster, more agile, more attentive and positionally sound, Carvajal is far better equipped than Danilo to deal with Draxler's threat, which could make for a fascinating duel between the pair.
Karim Benzema's Fitness
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When Karim Benzema limped off with injury in the opening half of last week's first leg, it was an enormous blow for Real Madrid.
In the visitors' strong start, the Frenchman had set up Cristiano Ronaldo beautifully (even though the resulting goal was correctly ruled offside), drew a desperate save from Diego Benaglio and consistently pulled Wolfsburg's defence out of shape.
But once he departed, Madrid lost all their attacking structure—as we've so often seen during Benzema's absences this season.
Indeed, the centre-forward is so vital to this outfit. In the middle of Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, it's Benzema who links everything together, who presents to the midfield and who gives the team a reference point. He makes this forward setup function.
Real Madrid will be sweating on his fitness ahead of Tuesday's second leg.
Wolfsburg's Ability to Close Space
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One of the predominant themes of Real Madrid's season in 2015-16 has been their struggles in breaking through teams that haven't come at them.
In the opening game of the campaign, Madrid couldn't break down Sporting Gijon. Soon after, Malaga and Granada caused them similar problems; ditto for Villarreal and Atletico Madrid more recently.
Wolfsburg can now be added to that list.
Indeed, in last week's first leg, the Germans excelled with an approach built on closing space and then counter-attacking. In a compact 4-2-3-1 that functioned more like a 4-3-3, full-backs Ricardo Rodriguez and Vieirinha tucked in and rarely ventured forward, Maximilian Arnold dropped in alongside Luiz Gustavo and Josuha Guilavogui, the latter operated as a roaming destroyer and Andre Schurrle covered holes from the front.
Such a method denied Madrid the space they like to run at and forced them wide, with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos rarely able to penetrate through the central corridor.
Wolfsburg will need a repeat of that display on Tuesday.
Diego Benaglio's Fortunes
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Tactics, matchups and fitness questions aside, if Wolfsburg are to escape from the Bernabeu unscathed on Tuesday, they'll almost certainly need their goalkeeper, Diego Benaglio, to have a good night.
All visiting teams do.
In the Champions League this season, no team has taken more shots than Real Madrid (206) according to Squawka, and since losing the season's first Clasico at home, Madrid's scoring record at the Bernabeu reads: four, eight, 10, three, five, five, six, four, zero, seven, two, four, four.
Benaglio, you suspect, will be a busy man.
