Real and Atlético eye Europe’s last 16

Real Madrid stands on the cusp of the Champions League knockout stages, and it could be at the expense of the club formerly coached by Carlo Ancelotti and graced with the midfield poise of his assistant, Zinedine Zidane. Juventus is far from guaranteed to join Real in the last 16, having tied games against Copenhagen and Galatasaray before being beaten 2-1 in the Bernabéu two weeks ago. Real, meanwhile, has a 100-percent record in the competition so far and will seal its qualification if it wins in Turin (Tuesday, 8.45 on TVE1/TV3).

However, despite scoring in 19 consecutive away games in the competition, Real Madrid has only beaten Juventus off home turf once, in the 1961-62 season. The Italian giant, twice the European champion, will be in serious trouble if the result is anything other than a home win: Galatasaray could move five points ahead of it if it triumphs in Copenhagen, with six left to play for in the group after this week's fixtures.

"Real is a team with an extraordinary front line, above all if they are permitted to play the sort of game they prefer," noted Antonio Conte, Juve's captain under Ancelotti between 1999 and 2001 and now head coach. "It's a crucial game for our future in the Champions League but at the same time we'll be going into the game confident and proud to be back playing these kinds of games. We'll be counting on the fans to create a red-hot atmosphere to give us something extra."

"Real has plenty of strong players up front who sometimes help out less in defensive areas, which puts their backline under pressure," added Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio, who in the absence of the suspended Giorgio Chiellini is the only player due on the field on Tuesday to have featured in Juve's last defeat of Real in Turin five years ago. "We managed to defend well in Spain, enjoy possession and cause them problems."

Historically, Milan has only beaten Barcelona once in seven attempts at Camp Nou

Another side in dire straits is Real Sociedad, which will be eliminated from the competition if it loses to Manchester United in Anoeta (Tuesday, 8.45pm on C+Liga de Campeones, as are all the other matches), or if it ties and Bayer Leverkusen beats Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine. La Real has yet to earn a single point in the competition and is desperate to avoid setting a club record of four straight defeats in Europe. "We want to give some joy to the fans," said the team's in-form winger Antoine Griezmann, who has scored five in his last three games. "On Tuesday we will give everything against Manchester United to take the three points. We know that qualifying will be difficult, but while there is hope we need to continue fighting. Moreover, we are playing for the image of the club."

Atlético is in the same situation as Real, where a home victory over Austria Wien on Wednesday will secure its place in the last 16. Considering Diego Simeone's home record with Atlético — three losses in the last season and a half — the Austrian side will have to pull something special out of the bag to keep its slim chances of reaching the next round alive. Diego Costa and David Villa have been scoring freely of late and next Friday's announcement of the latest Spain squad will provide a little dash of extra motivation for both.

Barcelona, meanwhile, is in control of Group H after two wins and a tie, but hosts second-placed AC Milan on Wednesday. Leo Messi has gone four league matches without a goal but did find the net against the Italians in the San Siro to earn his side a 1-1 result in the first leg of the double-fixture. Historically, Milan has only beaten Barcelona once in seven attempts at Camp Nou. A 2-0 loss at Fiorentina at the weekend was hardly ideal preparation for Massimiliano Allegri's side, but Barcelona also labored to victory in Friday's Catalan derby and two of its key players, Cesc Fàbregas and Alexis Sánchez, will have to tread carefully as they are a booking away from a ban. Barça stands on seven points to Milan's five, with Celtic and Ajax, who meet in the Amsterdam Arena, still in the hunt for one of the two qualifying spots.