Quarter Finals. 1st Leg, Part 1

The Champions League quarter-finals are upon us, and with it, come 4 intriguing battles. No one gets to the last 8 of Europe’s premier competition without earning their spot, and, with so much at stake, you can rest assured that we’re going to be served up some cracking games.

Internazionale v Schalke

Probably the tie that’s getting the least coverage at the moment, given that no one really expects either of these sides to make a serious charge for the crown this season. Inter, the reigning champs, have fallen from grace a little, having lost Jose Mourinho in the summer to Read Madrid. They had a disastrous start to their campaign, with new manager Rafa Benitez struggling to replicate last season’s treble winning heroics. Replaced by Leonardo mid-season, Inter have bounced back, and now sit in 3rd place in the Serie A, 5 points behind cross-town rivals AC Milan.

They got to the quarter-finals by playing out one of the best ties you’ll see in a while, with their 4-4 aggregate win on away goals against Bayern see-sawing all the way to the final minutes. A dramatic late winner in Munich secured the Italians passage, and even though they have not been playing at their best, Inter are in a position to make a decent charge for back-to-back Champions League titles. A 3-0 loss on the weekend to AC would’ve not done their confidence too many favours, but, they can redeem themselves tonight.

Schalke 04 are this year’s surprise package in the UCL. The German outfit got through at the expense of Valencia, a 3-1 home win confirming their spot in the final 8. It contrasts however with their domestic form, which see’s them languishing in 11th, a massive 32 points off the pace of Bundesliga leaders Dortmund.

This sort of contrast seems to suggest that perhaps a bit of luck may have helped Schalke enroute to the final 8, but they no doubt still form a formidable object for Inter. They were done a favour by being handed a relatively easy group to get out of in Group B, but they still needed to perform. Former Real Madrid star Raul leads the line, with 12 goals in all competitions so far, but you do get the feeling they’ll be up against it in this tie.

I’m leaning towards Inter for this one, as they appear to have turned a real corner since Leonardo’s introduction. They were at one stage sitting in 7th, quite some way off the pace in the Serie A, but they have turned it around, and, had they beaten AC Milan on the weekend, they would’ve topped the table. The core unit of the treble winning side last season is still there, and you can’t discount that. Schalke won’t make it easy, but you just feel their run is about to come to an end.

Real Madrid v Tottenham

I think this has the potential to be the tie of the round. One team, the kings of Europe, the big money spenders, arguably one of the biggest clubs in the world, up against the debutants, and one of the emerging powers in the Premier League, but still relatively inexperienced on this sort of stage. Real, with all their money and history, are still playing 2nd fiddle this season to their arch rivals Barcelona, and currently find themselves 8 points behind the Catalans in the Primera Division.

They comprehensively dispatched Lyon in the last round, a 3-0 home result securing a 4-1 aggregate win. They also convincingly qualified from a relatively difficult Group G, and are, so far, unbeaten in this year’s competition. We, of course, don’t need to talk any more about Christiano Ronaldo, as we all know his talents. The rising stars of Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria is what’s got Madrid fans excited, and they are proving a difficult team to outscore, even if they are sometimes still seen as defensively frail.

Spurs have had a tremendous debut season in the Champions League, topping a very difficult group and then forging their way past AC Milan in the last round. A lot of people claimed they rode their luck against the Italians, but watching the first leg, they could’ve won by a lot more than the 1-0 scoreline suggests.

At home in the Premier League, of recent, they’ve been struggling, and their hopes of a repeat 4th-placed finish are deminishing each week. 3 points from the last 4 games seems to indicate that the London club are running out of steam, but, given the significance of the task ahead, you’d have to think the players will be up for this clash. Rafael Van Der Vaart, a former Real Madrid player from last season, might be especially fired up for this clash, and has, thus far, been Tottenham’s outstanding player, along with Gareth Bale, who’s injury problems have blighted what was a billiant start to the season.

The significant factor for this game may be who isn’t playing, rather than who is. Karim Benzema has been ruled out, whilst Ronaldo faces a last minute fitness check to see if he takes his place. Should the Portugese star fail to start, this will obviously have a big impact on Real’s attacking abilities, especially without Benzema as well. Spurs may have Bale back in time to take his spot, but its touch and go, whilst Van Der Vaart has struggled of recent as well, and, for some unknown reason, seems to not be able to finish a full 90 minutes.

Real Madrid, on prestige alone perhaps, would have to be considered favourites here, but I get the feeling Spurs may just produce something special here. Having seen how well they did against Milan, I suspect Harry Redknapp know’s how to rally his troops at just the right time. I’ll certainly be hauling myself out of bed at 3am here in Australia to catch this tie.