Real Madrid hope to wrap up qualification

Real Madrid have been dreaming of winning this seasons Champions League final at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium but...

Real Madrid have been dreaming of winning this seasons Champions League final at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium but first they need to get out of the group stages,and there is still some work to be done going into Wednesdays home match against FC Zurich.

Real lie joint top of Group C alongside AC Milan but Marseille are just a point behind the duo,meaning Real need to defeat bottom side Zurich to put one foot in the knockout phase of this seasons competition.

Real have lost some of their aura at home in Europe in recent seasons,losing 3-2 to AC Milan in this seasons competition,while Juventus and Liverpool both won at the Bernabeu last season.

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Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo is on the recovery road after ten games out with ankle trouble and coach Manuel Pellegrini must decide whether to risk the forward.

Despite the absence of Ronaldo,Real have won nine games out of 11 to top the league,but coach Pellegrini has still not won over the unforgiving Real crowd,who have not been enthralled by the pragmatic winning football which was again on show in Saturdays 1-0 win over Racing Santander. We have to improve the football we are playing, admitted Pellegrini. It was difficult against Racing because we had a two-week break.

Swiss side FC Zurich caused a few problems for Real in the away game and need to record a historic win in Madrid to have any chance of reaching the knockout phase as they are four points behind the leaders.

Milan are joint top of Group C,along with Madrid on seven points. Marseille are third with six,three more than Zurich. The Italians will qualify if they beat Marseille at the San Siro.

Must-win for Bayern

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Bayern Munich must beat Maccabi Haifa to have a chance of advancing to the knockout stages,and only if Bordeaux beats Juventus. Should Juventus win in Bordeaux,the only thing left for Bayern is to secure a place in the Europa League that goes to the third-place finisher in the group. Bordeaux,who qualified with their 2-0 win at Bayern in the previous round,lead Group A with 10 points,two more than the Italians. Bayern,who host last-place Maccabi Haifa,are third with four points. Under the best scenario,Bayern could still qualify with a last-match win in Turin.

Berbatov could return

Dimitar Berbatov could make his return from injury in Manchester Uniteds match against Besiktas at Old Trafford. Rio Ferdinand is definitely out with an injury to his lower back,as is Johnny Evans after failing to recover from a calf problem. The main change,though,will be in goal. Edwin van der Sar was not training a day before the match,which means Ferguson will have to decide between Tomasz Kuszczak and Ben Foster.

Chelsea will finish top of Group D if they secure their first ever victory at Portos Stadium of the Dragon. Both clubs have already qualified for the knockout round.

Wednesday’s matches: Group A: Bayern Munich vs Maccabi Haifa; Bordeaux vs Juventus. Group B: CSKA Moscow vs Wolfsburg; Manchester United vs Besiktas. Group C: AC Milan vs Marseille; Real Madrid vs FC Zurich. Group D: APOEL Nicosia vs Atletico Madrid; FC Porto vs Chelsea