Champions League Preview: Shoestring Swedes hope to upset mighty Madrid

‘Nobody is counting on us to take points, but when we play offensively and get the crowd behind us, anything can happen’

When Swedish champions Malmo take on mighty Real Madrid on Wednesday they do so knowing they would probably have to sell their entire squad just to be able to afford a single player from the bench of the Spanish giants.

They are certainly not going to England just to look at the stadium

Valued at around 20 million euros in total on the Transfer Market website, the modest Malmo squad consists of home-produced players and low-budget signings brought in by sporting director Daniel Andersson.

Malmo do have some pedigree in Europe having reached the 1979 European Cup final where they lost to Nottingham Forest.

Since then, however, the gulf between Europe's big leagues has grown so wide that it is almost impossible for a club of Malmo's limited means to survive beyond the group phase.

Yet, there will be no sense of inferiority on Wednesday as the 18-time Swedish champions welcome Rafa Benitez's side to the 24,000-capacity Swedbank Stadion -- even if their ambition is to finish third in Group A and continue in the Europa League.

"No matter who they put in, it will be a world-famous star," captain Markus Rosenberg told reporters of the prospect of meeting the 10-time European champions.

"Nobody is counting on us to take points, but when we play offensively and get the crowd behind us, anything can happen."

‘We need to keep working, create chances and be more accurate’

Madrid put down an early Champions League marker with a 4-0 thrashing of Shakhtar Donetsk, following on from 5-0 and 6-0 La Liga wins against Real Betis and Espanyol respectively, but the goal flow has dried up as they arrive in southern Sweden.

They managed only three goals in narrow victories over Granada and Athletic Bilbao while a scoreless draw with Malaga on Saturday cost them top spot.

"These things happen in football," Benitez said after the stalemate. "We need to keep working, create chances and be more accurate".

Malmo will have to find a way to shackle Cristiano Ronaldo who scored a hat-trick against Donetsk to become the all-time highest scorer in the Champions League with 80 goals.

The Portuguese has another chance to overtake Raul as Real's all-time leading marksman on Wednesday.

Former Spain striker Raul, now with New York Cosmos, netted 323 goals in 741 appearances, while Ronaldo has a jaw-dropping 321 in just 307 matches.

Malmo goalkeeper Johan Wiland, who kept Lionel Messi out when he played for FC Copenhagen against Barcelona in the Champions League in 2010, will be doing all he can to stop Ronaldo breaking that record.

Asked by newspaper Kvallsposten if Ronaldo was over-valued compared to his Malmo team mates, Wiland laughed said: "I'm not going to stand here and say that today, if I do they'll smash in four on Wednesday," the 34-year-old said.

Struggling Man City face stern test at revived Gladbach

Manchester City already have their backs to the wall when they travel to Borussia Moenchengladbach, with injuries piling up and a losing start to the competition threatening to derail their Champions League campaign.

After starting the English Premier League season with five consecutive wins, a jolting home defeat by Juventus in their Champions League opener was followed by consecutive beatings by West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Saturday's 4-1 defeat by Tottenham also saw midfield powerhouse Yaya Toure suffer a hamstring injury, while keeper Joe Hart missed that game with an injury and both are doubts for the clash in the Rhineland.

With pressure mounting to stay in the running for a top-two finish in Group D, City's coach Manuel Pellegrini is also likely to be without captain Vincent Kompany who is nursing a calf problem.

"Joe had a problem with his back during the week," Pellegrini said. "Yaya had some problem with his hamstring, and we don't know (if they will be fit). We must wait..to decide if they are 100 percent."

With Moenchengladbach hosting their first game in Europe's premier club competition for 37 years, the atmosphere at the Borussia-Park will be daunting for City who badly need a three points to bolster their chances of getting beyond the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time.

Chilean Pellegrini, however, remains confident of City's chances.

"The first season we beat Bayern Munich and lost against Real Madrid in the group stages and qualified with 15 points," Pellegrini said. "Last year was exactly the same."

"This season we lost against Juventus here, but we played better than Juventus. We lost just three points. I'm absolutely confident we are going to do it because we did it the last two seasons after losing the first game."

Gladbach are neither Real Madrid nor Bayern or Juve but the Germans are on a high after two consecutive wins following a terrible start to the season.