Manchester United vs. Real Madrid

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 Manchester United

One of the greatest storylines of recent history, February’s clash between Manchester United and Real Madrid didn’t quite live up to the billing of super extravaganza many had supposed.

However, that could only mean the masses are in for a treat of an encounter this month; an encounter that Sir Alex Ferguson’s in-form Red Devils will come out of the better.

Having just beaten Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu, one would be forgiven for thinking Real Madrid verge on achieving world-beater status themselves but that isn’t quite the case.

Although Los Merengues managed to fashion a healthy majority of the attacking opportunities against Manchester United two weeks ago, the Red Devils were somewhat happy to soak up the pressure before fashioning counters of their own.

This time, it’s sure to be United that do a larger portion of the probing, just as they have done so far this season when playing at Old Trafford.

Having said that, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have been somewhat unimpressive in defence at times and will need to once again restrain Cristiano Ronaldo to have any chance of progression.

This was the job that Phil Jones performed so admirably but is unlikely to be back from injury in time to fulfil it in the second leg.

Instead, Ferguson will need to imagine a new contingency plan for his former starlet lest the Red Devils find their weak backline exposed by the player that once called the Theatre of Dreams home.

With the scoreline tied at 1-1, Iker Casillas’ absence could prove a massive absence for Real and although Manchester City may have lent their training facilities to the Spanish giants (via Independent), Jose Mourinho’s defence will prove the lighter of the two on the night.