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Ancelotti's players visit the Signal-Iduna Park after a convincing 0-4 win away against Real Sociedad. Last Wednesday, los blancos also earned a big lead thanks to a clean sheet and three goals. So it was a really good week and it should not get any worse after this upcoming second leg against Dortmund. The German squad will have a really hard time trying to overcome that 3-0 madridista lead, but it's true that Klopp will have striker Robert Lewandowski back in the starting lineup.
Lewandowski buried Real's hopes of advancing to the Champions League Final last season by scoring 4 goals in the first leg played at the Signal-Iduna Park. Still, that Borussia Dortmund team had Ilkay Gündogan man-marking Xabi Alonso, and that will not happen this time. Furthermore, Ancelotti's Real Madrid does not rely that much on Alonso.
Real Madrid should control the game quite easily thanks to that big margin. To score one away goal would still help a lot. The atmosphere is so intense that they could make things really difficult for Real Madrid if Dortmund manage to score first, and a Real Madrid goal would deactivate that intensity.
Ancelotti announced that Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Coentrao will all start, even though this was probably a good game for them to get some rest. Real Madrid will be playing the Copa del Rey Final in just one week and it would be dramatic to lose either one of those players for what will be the first chance for Ancelotti to win a title this season.
Cristiano Ronaldo will likely be out of the match after leaving Tuesday's training session with his small knee problems. It would not be wise to risk him, so Ancelotti could leave him on the bench in case he needs to find a desperate goal, something that is simply not probable. Therefore, Di María could replace the Portuguese player with Illarramendi being deployed in the midfield to have some defensive presence after his good performances.
Real Madrid will seal their passport to the Champions League Semifinals for the fourth year in a row if they manage to keep that 3-0 lead on aggregate. It would certainly be a success to be there on Ancelotti's first season, but nobody will have enough with Real's presence on the Semifinals Draw.
Probable Lineups:
Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller, Piszczek, Sokratis, Hummels, Grosskreutz, Sahin, Jojic, Reus, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, Lewandowski
Real Madrid: Casillas, Carvajal, Ramos, Pepe, Coentrao, Alonso, Modric, Illarramendi, Bale, Di María, Benzema