Madrid on verge of quarter-finals against CSKA

Madrid: On the cusp of a second straight Champions League quarter-finals appearance, Real Madrid must not relapse into their recent history of slipping up at the last-16 stage come Wednesday's return leg against CSKA Moscow.

Madrid hold the away-goal advantage following a 1-1 first-leg draw, and they have won all 17 games at the Santiago Bernabeu apart from two losses to Barcelona. Jose Mourinho's team has outscored all other opponents 74-17 at home and the Portuguese coach has helped erase a run of underachieving that saw Madrid fail to emerge from the last-16 in every season since 2005 until a semi-final appearance last year.

The Portuguese coach was clear his future at the club doesn't depend on the result of this match, with Madrid chasing a 10th European Cup.

"Surprises can happen, miracles don't," Mourinho said on Tuesday from the club's training ground. "If they win it won't be the result of a miracle — it will be because they played very well and we played very poorly. But this team does not fear anything or anyone."

CSKA scored a stoppage-time equalizer to deny Madrid a win in Moscow, and the Russian side caused another of Spain's powerhouses problems before, eliminating defending champions Barcelona from the second round 19 years ago with a victory at the Camp Nou after a 1-1 draw in Moscow.

Madrid have lost once in nine fixtures against Russian opponents, with Spartak Moscow's victory in the return leg of a 1990-91 two-legged series the last time the Spanish giants exited from Europe after securing a first-leg draw away.

"They are always strong teams, with tall players. It's always difficult to beat them," Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo said on Tuesday. "A Russian team to win the Champs League, why not? I think it's possible. But not this year because I want to win."

Madrid remain without injured forward Angel di Maria, while France striker Karim Benzema returned from the injury picked up in the first leg to play some minutes in Saturday's 3-2 win over Real Betis. Hamit Altintop will miss the match while Fabio Coentrao has missed two straight games to injury.

Mourinho might play with three forwards, with Ronaldo lining up with Gonzalo Higuain and Benzema.

While Lionel Messi is scoring goals at a record-defying rate, Ronaldo is not far behind. His Spanish league-leading 32 goals make up the bulk of his 40 this season.

Ronaldo has scored in six straight games — a total of eight goals — to steer Madrid's offence on course to set a new record for league goals in a season.

"I only worry about myself and my team," Ronaldo said. "Goals don't mean anything to me. To score or not doesn't mean anything to me."

CSKA are winless in five league matches after salvaging a 1-1 draw against Dynamo Moscow over the weekend.

Midfielder Pavel Mamaev and defender Kirill Nababkin return from bans while midfielder Alan Dzagoev is suspended. Japan midfielder Keisuke Honda is expected to be available despite a thigh injury while Igor Akinfeev and Mark Gonzalez remain sidelined.

CSKA have lost just two of their last 23 road games in all competitions, winning 10 of those. A draw will suffice if they score more than two goals.