Atletico presents huge challenge for Real Madrid in quarter-finals

MADRID — If beating Atletico Madrid wasn’t hard enough for Real Madrid, the defending champions must now find a way to better their crosstown rivals in the Champions League without four of their most important players.

A depleted Madrid hosts Atletico on Wednesday in the second leg of the quarter-finals.

Their 0-0 draw last week means that the fitter and more physical Atletico can advance with either a win or a draw with goals.

Madrid has yet to beat Atletico in seven matches this season in four competitions and now faces overcoming a spate of injuries that has sidelined Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Luka Modric. Marcelo is suspended. Atletico striker Fernando Torres is still wary of a Madrid side featuring Cristiano Ronaldo.

“They have more than enough talented players,” Torres said.

“We will try to take advantage of (their injuries), but it won’t make much of a difference.”

Here are somethings to know about the match:

Mangled Madrid

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was already busy figuring out a way to finally beat Atletico this season.

But now that three of his players have been ruled unfit over a run of three days, Ancelotti has the additional problem of choosing his starting 11.

Modric was diagnosed with a sprain to a right-knee ligament on Sunday.

The next day doctors said Bale had hurt his left calf and that was followed by Benzema showing a rightknee sprain of his own on Tuesday.

Ancelotti plans to use Fabio Coentrao in place of Marcelo.

He could opt to deploy two playmakers in Francisco “Isco” Alarcon and James Rodriguez in place of Bale, leaving Ronaldo up front with either the little-used Javier Hernandez or Jese Rodriguez.

Down to this

Atletico is one strong performance away from avenging last season’s painful 4-1 extra time loss to Madrid in the Champions League final.

And while Madrid can still vie for the Spanish league title, trailing Barcelona by two points with six matches to go, Atletico’s hopes to win a major trophy for a fourth consecutive season under coach Diego Simeone hinge on advancing to the semifinals.

“I am facing it like it’s the most important game of the season,” Torres said.