Alvaro Arbeloa
Alvaro Arbeloa did well in the first leg and is likely to play again this week. He got forward well, but his final ball continued to let him down. Not a huge letdown, as his primary role will be to keep things tidy alongside the other defenders.
Raphael Varane
This might be another excellent time to throw Raphael Varane into the mix and give the youngster some much-needed game time. On the face of it, the tie is over, with the visitors extremely unlikely to get three away goals, let alone prevent Madrid from scoring, so why not let the Frenchman make another appearance?
What we've seen from Varane this season—albeit in small doses—has been hugely encouraging. He's confident, able to adapt to Madrid's high line due to his pace and absolutely has the makings of a future regular for the club.
By no means ready to play against teams of Barcelona's calibre, but with respect to APOEL, this should be a comfortable game for the youngster.
Sergio Ramos
Again, in a game where there is almost no possibility of losing, Jose Mourinho could opt to drop Sergio Ramos and keep him fresh for the tie against Valencia on the weekend. But with a good opportunity to bring in Varane, you'd certainly want an experienced defender alongside the youngster.
As the leader of the backline, Ramos marshals the defence well and will be one of the keys to preventing an opening for the opposition.
Marcelo
The left-back position in the first leg last week proved to be a small cause for discussion, as Fabio Coentrao was preferred over Marcelo to start the game in Cyprus. But despite Coentrao's efforts going forward, he was notably overshadowed by the performance of Marcelo in the final 15 minutes of the match.
Marcelo, while not as defensively astute as the Portuguese fullback, adds greatly to Madrid's attack, giving Cristiano Ronaldo a more than capable partner on his left flank. Again, the tie seems to be over at this point, but momentum is always important at this stage. A good win for the team will obviously spill over into the next game against Valencia, and Marcelo will play a role in the team's performance in front of goal tomorrow night.
Nuri Sahin
It would be fantastic to see Nuri Sahin given an opportunity so early to build on his excellent performance of the first leg last week.
Brought in to replace the suspended Xabi Alonso, Sahin provided a reminder of his quality from his Dortmund days. He laid on a number of scoring opportunities, and despite waning a little in the second half, demonstrated that he is a very good alternative to Alonso.
Again, with eyes on the weekend, this is a good pit stop in the week to keep Xabi Alonso rested for Valencia. More importantly, it's a good chance to give Sahin more game time.
It remains to be seen what his situation will be come the summer, with a possibility of a return to Germany always there due to a lack of game time. But with his ability and quality, games such as this should be given to Sahin to allow him to build his sharpness and confidence.
Esteban Granero
Due to injury to Sami Khedira and Lassana Diarra, it would be a low-risk game to bring Granero into the centre of midfield. He's able to keep the ball well, seamlessly slots into the team whenever called up and adds confidence to those around him.
A underrated player who could show his importance—even as a squad player—over the next two months.
