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Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid: 3 Things to Watch in the First Leg of the Champions League Quarterfinal

By Ben Sundock

(L-R) Real Madrid's Welsh striker Gareth Bale, Real Madrid's Croatian Luka Modric and Brazilian defender Danilo wait at the bench prior to a training session on the eve of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final football match between FC Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in Munich, southern Germany, on April 11, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Christof STACHE (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)
(L-R) Real Madrid's Welsh striker Gareth Bale, Real Madrid's Croatian Luka Modric and Brazilian defender Danilo wait at the bench prior to a training session on the eve of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final football match between FC Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in Munich, southern Germany, on April 11, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Christof STACHE (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images) /
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The difficult month of April rolls on for Real Madrid as the team prepare to face long time Champions League rivals Bayern Munich in the first leg of the UCL quarterfinals from the Allianz Arena. Ben Sundock gives you three things to watch in this matchup of two of the best teams in Europe.

(Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
(Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images) /

Missing Defenders, On Both Sides

It will no doubt be interesting to see how both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich get on with both sides missing key players on defense.

For Real, manager Zinedine Zidane will have a tough time finding enough players to fill out his starting four defenders and his bench defenders as well, floating the idea that a player or two from the Real Madrid Castilla team could be an option off the bench.

However, that did not happen, instead Zidane has gone back to Fabio Coentrao and has Dani Carvajal listed on the squad sheet, despite missing training before traveling to Munich.

Both Pepe, who fractured a couple of ribs in a collision with Toni Kroos on Saturday in the Madrid Derby, and Rapahel Varane, who reinjured a muscle in his leg against Deportivo Alavés a couple weekends ago, will miss the match and didn’t even make the trip to Germany.

While Carvajal is listed on the team sheet, it is still uncertain if he will start. Carvajal played the full 90 minutes on Saturday against Atletico Madrid, and he didn’t appear to be injured in the match, so, it is unknown what exactly held Dani out of training.

Real will definitely need the full back to hold down the Bayern attack.

Former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti will have a similar dilemma with his squad, as star center back Mats Hummels will miss the match Wednesday with an ankle injury picked up in training.

He isn’t the only Bayern player in doubt, as world class striker Robert Lewandowski missed the team’s training Monday ahead of the match because of a sore shoulder.

Lewandowski picked up the knock in Bayern’s 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, which forced him off early after scoring two goals in the match.

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