Misfiring Real hoping for second-leg Modric lift against Schalke
Struggling Real Madrid is poised to have Luka Modric back for its Champions League last-16 second-leg clash with Schalke and provide the creativity that club has been sorely missing. Murmurs of crisis at the Bernabeu have been growing with Real having surrendered its lead at the top of La Liga following a 1-0 defeat away to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, and the focus of the concern has been on the poor form in attack. With a 2-0 lead from the first leg in Germany, at least the pressure should be off the reigning-champion against Schalke on Tuesday and it should be the ideal chance for Carlo Ancelotti’s side to get back on track. The team has not been able to rediscover its sharpness ever since crashing to a 4-0 defeat in the derby against Atletico Madrid at the beginning of February. Since then, Real has won just three from six in all competitions and the focus is now on whether the return of Modric can spark the forwards back into life. “There was too much confusion to what we were doing,” Ancelotti told a news conference following the Bilbao loss. “We were too slow and did not move the ball around well so that there was no space for the forwards.” Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, the attacking trident who plundered opposition defenses in Real’s Spanish record 22-match winning streak at the end of 2014, have now mustered just 15 goals from 14 games. Confidence among the trio appears low with Bale, who has received whistles from the Real fans for being selfish, now having gone eight games without a goal. Modric was a key player in the opening months of the season with his clever passing from midfield before he suffered a hamstring injury last November. With James Rodriguez also in the treatment room, Real has looked predictable in the middle of the pitch and been unable to find an effective link with the forwards. Modric was keen to face Bilbao, but Ancelotti felt it wiser to give him a few extra days to get stronger following his hamstring injury and return against Roberto Di Matteo’s Schalke, which lies fourth in the Bundesliga after a 3-1 victory over Hoffenheim on Saturday. Injury to Porto star Martinez offers Sousa’s Basel more hope In Tuesday’s other clash, Porto is almost certain to be without captain and leading scorer Jackson Martinez when it hosts FC Basel, which is rapidly gaining in confidence, in their return leg. Basel coach Paulo Sousa, whose side was held 1-1 at home in the first leg, said the club was nearly back to its best following the winter break which saw the departures of midfielders Marcelo Diaz and Serey Die. The Swiss champion thumped FC Thun 3-0 on Saturday, leaving it seven points clear atop the league, with a performance which delighted the Portuguese coach. “It was an amazing, amazing performance, and I’m really, really happy,” said Sousa, whose side reached the Champions League knockout stage at the expense of Liverpool and is aiming to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 1973/74. Sousa, in his first season at Basel after leading Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Israeli league title last term, is on familiar ground as he faced Porto 12 times as a player – seven with Benfica, four with Sporting Lisbon and once with Panathinaikos. Porto, second behind Benfica in the Portuguese championship, has won its last six league games without conceding a goal and is also unbeaten so far in the Champions League this season. However, it remains to be seen how it will fare without Colombia forward Martinez, who suffered a groin injury in Friday’s 1-0 win at Braga. Martinez has scored six goals in eight Champions League matches this season and is also leading the Portuguese League with 17 goals. Overall, he has scored 86 times in 125 appearances since joining the Dragons from Mexico in July 2012. Porto, who are attempting to reach the last eight for the second time since winning the trophy under Jose Mourinho in 2004, has lost on five of its last six appearances in the round-of-16. It is unbeaten against Swiss opponents since losing 3-0 to Grasshoppers in a UEFA Cup match in the 1980/81 season. On Wednesday, Chelsea will host Paris Saint Germain in the second leg of their last-16 duel, which is tied 1-1, while Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk visits Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich following and opening-leg goalless draw in Kiev. (Reuters)