It’s something of a surprise to see Real priced up at 11/10 (Ladbrokes) to establish some sort of advantage after ninety minutes at the Bernabeu. After all, while the Spanish champions have flattered to deceive in the Champions League over the past few seasons, they are looking formidable at the moment under Juande Ramos. Since losing to arch-rivals Barcelona on 13th December, his team have embarked on a nine-match winning run, and will be confident of making it ten against a Liverpool team who have looked decidedly ordinary in recent weeks.

Considering that the home side have won their past two matches by scorelines of 4-0 and 6-1, some might even be tempted by the 11/4 (Ladbrokes) about them leading at half-time and full-time. While they lost to Juventus in both group qualifying games, this competition is often about the team that comes into form at the right time, with Ramos having some excellent attacking options at his disposal. Raul (6/1 Blue Square) needs no introduction and remains a key player for Madrid, although Gonzalo Higuain (6/1 Betfred) is the main attacking threat for the royal club, having scored thirteen goals in twenty matches this season. Thankfully for the Reds, Ruud Van Nistelrooy remains sidelined through injury.

Liverpool are as big as 3/1 (Ladbrokes) to pull off an amazing win, although Rafael Benitez will be setting up his team to primarily try and avoid a defeat. A goalless draw (17/2 Sportingbet) would be an excellent outcome for the 2005 winners of this competition, with much depending on whether Steven Gerrard returns after suffering a recent hamstring injury. The Reds captain is 17/2 (bet365) to open the scoring, with Fernando Torres the other plausible goalscorer for the visitors. The ex-Atletico Madrid striker is 13/2 (Coral) to open the scoring and 11/5 (Coral) to score at any stage of the game.

Nevertheless, while Pool upset the odds to defeat Inter at the same stage last season, Ramos’ team look the value option (evens Skybet) to qualify at their expense. The Reds have stuttered badly in recent weeks, causing their title challenge to ebb away, and their defence has not been its usual reliable self. I’d be looking to back Real to win this match by a 1-0 (6/1 Blue Square) and 2-0 scoreline (9/1 Centrebet), thus giving Liverpool plenty of work for the return game at Anfield.