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Madrid will miss defender Míchel Salgado in the second leg


Real Madrid CF take on old foes Juventus FC with some untimely injury worries
as they look to continue their pursuit of an unprecedented tenth European
Champion Clubs' Cup triumph.

Close encounter
Madrid pulled out all the stops when the two sides met in the Spanish capital
on 23 February. In arguably their best performance of the season, only Iván
Helguera's first-half goal from a David Beckham cross separated the teams.
Madrid merited victory but were unlucky not to have won more convincingly, as
Santiago Solari told uefa.com: "It wasn't the result we perhaps deserved.
Considering the chances we had, we could have decided the tie."

  

Pavel Nedved was injured in Madrid


Madrid motivated
Juventus, meanwhile, left the Santiago Bernabéu clearly relieved their hosts
had not been able to inflict more damage and with a result which leaves the
tie finely balanced before Wednesday's return in Turin. Coach Fabio Capello
said: "It was an incredibly difficult game for us because Madrid are very,
very motivated at the moment. Apart from the [UEFA] Champions League, they
are chasing the league and want to make up ground on [FC] Barcelona. They are
fired up and that makes them even more dangerous than normal."

Season at stake
Barcelona have had the edge on their old rivals in the Primera División this
campaign, which has left Madrid with the difficult task of attempting to
reduce the gap at the top of the table while staying alive in European
competition. The psychological blows of losing to Athletic Club Bilbao and RC
Deportivo La Coru?a were softened by Wednesday's 3-1 win against Real Betis
Balompié but many believe their 1-1 draw at Valencia CF on Saturday could
signal the end of their challenge.

Untimely injuries
At the stage of the season when they most need every player fit, Madrid have
injury problems to overcome. Right-back Míchel Salgado stretched a knee
ligament in the first leg and will not travel to Italy. Coach Vanderlei
Luxemburgo has put his faith in left-footed defender Raúl Bravo to occupy
Salgado's slot. Furthermore, an unusually cold winter in Madrid has taken its
toll with Raúl Gonzalez, Roberto Carlos and David Beckham all recent victims
of flu. The England captain also has a back injury to overcome.

Clash of heads
Juventus have experienced similar problems. Pavel Nedved, who was a doubt
before the first game with a knee injury, lasted just 37 minutes before he
clashed heads with Raúl Bravo. "The injuries to Salgado and Pavel Nedved
made a huge difference in the first match," said Capello. "Losing Nedved hurt
us because he is the kind of player that can make all the difference in games
like this. I'm sure that Madrid will have had a similar feeling about losing
Salgado - these are important players for both clubs."

Herculean effort
Luxemburgo's troops will undoubtedly have to put in another Herculean effort
to protect their advantage at the Stadio Delle Alpi. Zinedine Zidane and Raú
l have been rested and goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who suffered a groin strain
against Betis, should be passed fit.

I am confident that we will be able to get a positive result in Turin

Fabio Capello


Positive result
Juve, meanwhile, have David Trezeguet back and Nedved has benefited from some
time off. Capello concluded: "I thought we played well in the first leg. We
put in a good performance and had a few chances of our own. We lost 1-0 but I
am confident that we will be able to get a positive result in Turin."




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