Champions League Preview: Tottenham and Inter Milan Looking To Defy the Odds

Tottenham vs. Real Madrid

Tottenham will look to create history by progressing to the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time in their history, but that looks extremely tough after their 4-0 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.

Real Madrid are in a commanding position—a position from which they aren't expected to fall from.

While José Mourinho said, following the first leg, that this tie was far from over, recent history in the Champions League suggests otherwise.

The four-goal deficit will be extremely hard to eat into, despite Tottenham's home advantage.

Real Madrid are expected to line up in a defensive manner, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Emmanuel Adebayor being the focal points of the attack.

José Mourinho's sides are always good at sucking up pressure, which is exactly what they will be doing at White Hart Lane—knowing they have the pace of Cristiano Ronaldo on the counter-attack.

Kaka announced his comeback in spectacular fashion at the weekend after his two goals against Athletic Bilbao proved he hasn't lost his charisma yet.

He is expected to link up the attack and defence at White Hart Lane.

Schalke vs. Inter Milan

Schalke will be over the moon, knowing that they have a very good chance to qualify for the semifinals as they take a three-goal advantage into the second leg quarterfinal match against Inter Milan.

This is quite a significant advantage to have against any side, which is all the more reason why complacency could set in.

If it does, it's the single opportunity that Leonardo has to get Inter Milan back into the tie.

At the moment, however, they are rank outsiders to qualify for the next stage—which could work in favour of the Milan outfit.

Comeback victories in the Champions League is something that isn't new for Leonardo, having already masterminded a comeback win over Bayern Munich in the previous round.

Even though reducing a three-goal deficit against the side is going to be difficult, Inter are expected to provide Schalke with a tough game at the very least.

Inter recovered from two straight losses to win against Chievo at the weekend, which should provide some confidence to their back-line who came away with a clean sheet.

Schalke, though, have an impressive form record in the Champions league, which could work in their favour.

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