Champions League QF Preview: Underdogs all well-placed to cause upsets

This week’s Champions League quarter-final second legs are all evenly balanced, with the underdogs in a good position to progress at the expense of their more fancied rivals.

Real Madrid will face a massive task in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Wolfsburg tonight, needing to overturn a two-goal deficit from last week’s game in Germany.

Madrid's unbeaten record in this season's competition was ended as Wolfsburg deservedly claimed a 2-0 win in the first leg at the Volkswagen Arena.

Ricardo Rodriguez and Maximilian Arnold scored the goals in Germany to give Wolfsburg a healthy advantage for the return trip to the Bernabeu.

Madrid have won all four home games in this season's tournament by a combined total of 15-0, while Wolfsburg have lost two of their four away matches.

The La Liga giants have an impressive home record against Bundesliga teams, winning 22 of their 29 previous meetings.

Raphael Varane and Karim Benzema are both available for selection after injury, while Sergio Ramos is back after serving a suspension against Eibar over the weekend.

Sebastian Jung is out with a knee injury for the visitors, with Daniel Caligiuri also doubtful due to a groin problem.

Elsewhere, Manchester City are bidding to confirm their status as one of Europe's leading clubs as they face Paris St-Germain for a place in the semi-final.

Last week's 2-2 draw in the Parc des Princes leaves City needing a win or a 0-0 or 1-1 draw to progress to the last four.

Goals by Kevin de Bruyne and Fernandinho in Paris have left Manuel Pellegrini's team in excellent shape for the second leg, but PSG's 2-1 victory in the last round at Chelsea is proof they are capable of winning in England.

Sergio Aguero is expected to be fit despite limping out of Saturday's 2-1 Premier League win over West Bromwich Albion, while captain Vincent Kompany has returned to training but is unlikely to be risked.

PSG duo David Luiz and Blaise Matuidi will miss the game through suspension, but Marco Verratti could return after a quick recovery from a groin injury.

Barcelona travels to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, holding a slender 2-1 advantage as they look to retain their Champions League title.

Luis Enrique's team slipped to a shock 1-0 league defeat at Real Sociedad on Saturday, but they remain unbeaten away from home in the Champions League this season.

Barca duo Jeremy Mathieu and Sandro will miss the game through injury, while Aleix Vidal is doubtful due to a hamstring problem.

Fernando Torres' sending off in the first leg means he is suspended for the return game, with Stefan Savic, Jose Gimenez and Oliver Torres all injury worries for Atletico boss Diego Simeone.

In Wednesday’s other fixture, Bayern Munich take a narrow 1-0 lead into their game at Benfica, after Arturo Vidal's first-leg goal.

Bayern have lost just once away from home in this season's competition and have scored goals in three of their four ties away from home.

Their Portuguese opponents have won three out of four at home, but they are yet to progress past Bayern in European competition with the German side winning their three previous encounters.

Bayern are aiming for a fifth successive semi-final appearance, while Benfica hope to reach the last four for the first time since 1990.