La Liga leaders Real Madrid head to snow-covered Moscow for the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie with CSKA Moscow on Tuesday.
Undefeated in the competition through the group stage, the Spanish giants go into the match as overwhelming favourites against a side that have played only one competitive match since the Russian Premier League's hibernation in late November.
With evening temperatures dipping as low as minus-10 degrees in the Russian capital, Jose Mourinho's men will look for no more from their brief stay than the three points.
The Real Madrid boss has taken 21 players on the plane to Moscow with Hamit Altintop, Angel Di Maria and Lassana Diarra missing out through injury.
Real Madrid now look to be cruising to a first Spanish title since the 2007-08 season having seemingly broken Barcelona's stranglehold on the mantle with a 10-point buffer going into the last 15 games.
"Everyone is happy, being happy works miracles and we are a group which is in good spirits," Mourinho beamed after Saturday's 4-0 win at home to Racing Santander.
"We have a lot of motivation although we know that it will be a difficult game in Moscow."
CSKA have a number of injury concerns despite their long layoff, with defenders Kirill Nababkin and Pavel Mamaev, Chilean winger Mark Gonzalez, Japanese playmaker Keisuke Honda along with Flamengo-bound striker Vagner Love, all ruled out.
Manager Leonid Slutsky remains wary of Real after only a handful of friendly matches, the latest a 2-2 draw with Ukranian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk in Turkey, and said a fast start would be the key.
"I'm confident that all of my players will come into the match with top concentration," Slutsky said.
"We need to start at full confidence. We all understand that a good start may determine the entire match."
0 - 1 |
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1 - 1 |
| # | Player | Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | S. Chepchugov | |
| 24 | V. Berezutski | |
| 4 | S. Ignashevich | |
| 6 | A. Berezutski | |
| 42 | G. Schennikov | |
| 3 | P. Wernbloom |
 67'
 90+3'
|
| 22 |
E. Aldonin
|
|
| 10 | A. Dzagoev | |
| 21 |
Z. Tošić
|
|
| 8 | S. Doumbia | |
| 18 |
A. Musa
|
|
| Coach: L. Slutsky | ||
| # | Player | Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Casillas | |
| 4 | Sergio Ramos |
72'
|
| 3 | Pepe | |
| 17 | Arbeloa | |
| 15 | Fábio Coentrão |
82'
|
| 14 | Xabi Alonso |
46'
|
| 10 |
M. Özil
|
|
| 6 | S. Khedira | |
| 21 |
José Callejón
|
|
| 7 | Cristiano Ronaldo |
28'
|
| 9 |
K. Benzema
|
|
| Coach: José Mourinho | ||
| # | Player | Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| 26 |
for A. Musa 64' |
|
| 7 |
for E. Aldonin 68' |
|
| 89 |
for Z. Tošić 82' |
|
| 2 | ||
| 25 | ||
| 29 | ||
| 95 |
| # | Player | Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| 20 |
for K. Benzema 16' |
|
| 8 |
for José Callejón 75' |
|
| 18 |
for M. Özil 85' |
|
| 2 | ||
| 11 | ||
| 12 | ||
| 13 |
