Real Madrid to play Apoel in Champions League

Madrid, April 4 (IANS) Real Madrid face what in theory should be a comfortable evening when they entertain APOEL Nicosia in the return leg of their Champions League quarterfinal Wednesday night.

Real go into the game on the back of a 3-0 win in Cyprus last week in a match they dominated from start to finish, enjoying over 20 shots on the rival goal, with APOEL unable to shoot one single time against the goal defended by Iker Casillas.

Cristiano Ronaldo was realistic about the tie saying they were assured of a place in the semi-final.

If Madrid win, it will be a much sterner test in the next round as they will face German record champions Bayern Munich.

"The result that we got away from home was very important. I am not going to be hypocritical about it, because I think that the tie is just about 90 percent assured, but there is still 10 percent to decide and anything can happen in football," Ronaldo was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

"We are playing at home and we don't want to waste the chance to go further in this competition. It is a dream result to win 3-0 away from home and we are on the right track," added the striker.

With the result all-but assured, Madrid coach Jose Mourinho will use the game to rest players for this weekend' s Primera Liga game against Valencia and also to ensure that nobody picks up a booking that could lead to them being suspended later in the competition.

That could see Esteban Granero and Nuri Sahin play in midfield with Rafael Varene in central defence, while Argentine winger Angel de Maria gets a run out after finally recovering from a hamstring problem.