UCL Preview: Real Madrid v Juventus

Holders Real Madrid will be without suspended captain Sergio Ramos when they host Juventus in the Champions League quarter-final second leg.

Defender Jesus Vallejo, 21, could start alongside Raphael Varane for Real, who lead 3-0 from the first leg in Turin.

Juventus will be without forward Paulo Dybala, who was sent off in the first leg for two yellow cards.

Twelve-time winners Real are looking to win the competition for the fourth time in five seasons.

'I'm not interested in being favourites'

Only a spectacular collapse will deny Real another semi-final appearance following their Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired victory in Italy.

Ronaldo scored two goals including an incredible bicycle kick in the first leg and is expected to play on Wednesday even though his team are in a commanding position.

Real boss Zinedine Zidane played down suggestions his side are favourites to win Europe's most prestigious club competition again.

Zidane said his side still had work to do to advance past Juventus despite their handsome lead. 

"I'm not interested in talk of favourites, I prefer to show it out on the pitch and we must respect all clubs and all aspects of football," added the Real boss.

"If we put in a great performance and we are focussed throughout the match we have a good chance of battling through, but we must keep that idea in mind."

'We're not crying about what happened'

Only two teams in Champions League history have overturned a deficit of three goals or more from the first leg in the knockout stages.

Deportivo La Coruna trailed AC Milan 4-1 in quarter-final in 2004 before advancing 5-4 on aggregate after winning 4-0 in Spain.

Barcelona overturned a 4-0 last-16 deficit against Paris St-Germain by winning 6-1 in the second leg at the Nou Camp last season.

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon will be making his final appearance in the competition unless Juve can produce a fightback.

Buffon, 40, announced in October he will retire at the end of the season unless his club win the Champions League.

Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini said it was important the Italian champions produced an improved performance in Spain after their first-leg disappointment.

"We're not crying about what happened, and we go to Madrid with the desire to play a good game," added Chiellini.

"We'll treat it like a marathon, not a sprint and we'll need to go into the game with a level head."

Englishman on the pitch at the Bernabeu

Premier League referee Michael Oliver will take charge of the match in Spain's capital city.

Oliver will officiate his second Champions League knockout match of the season.

He also refereed the last-16 tie between Besiktas and Bayern Munich in Istanbul.

European football writer James Horncastle

This could be Gianluigi Buffon's final Champions League appearance. We've seen the Bernabeu give standing ovations for Andrea Pirlo and Francesco Totti when they have come and made their last appearance there.

I wouldn't be surprised if they recognise what Buffon has done not only for Juventus, but the world of football.

Listen to the full preview of this week's Champions League fixtures on the Euro Leagues Football Show.

Stats This will be the 21st meeting between these two clubs in European competition, with all 20 previous games being in the Champions League or European Cup. Real Madrid have won 10 times, Juventus eight times and there have been two draws. The only fixture to have been played more in European Cup/Champions League history than this one [21st meeting] is Bayern Munich v Real Madrid [24 games]. Juventus have won two of their eight away games against Real Madrid (D1 L5), winning 1-0 in February 1962 and 2-0 in November 2008. Real Madrid have only failed to win/progress from one of their 32 previous European knockout games in which they won the first leg away from home, losing out to Odense Boldklub in the 1994-95 Uefa Cup [won 3-2 away, lost 0-2 at home]. Real Madrid have scored in each of their last 24 Champions League games, netting 63 goals in total. The Bianconeri have kept six clean sheets in their past 10 Champions League away games. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in all six of his Champions League games against Juventus, netting nine goals in total.