By Chris Wright
Thanks chiefly to the dreary Interlull that has enveloped the footballing sphere for the past two weeks it seems to have crept up from nowhere, but Tottenham are in the Spanish capital tonight to take on Real Madrid in the first leg of their maiden Champions League quarter-final.
By way of contrast, Madrid are chasing down their 10th European title and look set to roll out a considerable weapon in order to abet their cause against Spurs; one Cristiano Ronaldo – who was always going to make his comeback from a hamstring injury just in time for tonight’s game at the Bernabeu, despite Jose Mourinho’s repeated protestations to the contrary.
Marcelo, Angel Di Maria and Kaka are also available after a flurry of injury doubts, while striker Gonzalo Higuain, who made his return against Sporting Gijon (a 1-0 home defeat that saw Mourinho’s nine-year unbeaten record go down the pan) at the weekend after over four months out with a dislocated spine, is also included in the squad.
Tottenham’s big comeback news is not quite as stellar, though it’s possibly even more important from a Spurs’ standpoint – Gareth Bale trained successfully yesterday evening and will start tonight, while William Gallas is also being tipped to be drafted back into their defense despite a knee problem meaning that he was unable to kick a ball on Friday.
Is it just me, or does that sound like a recipe for disaster?
Pies says
Real Madrid 3-0 Tottenham
You say?