Tottenham's Redknapp puts faith in Madrid miracle

Many have written off Tottenham Hotspur FC's chances of overturning last week's 4-0 defeat at Real Madrid CF when the UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie concludes on Wednesday but Harry Redknapp and José Mourinho are not among them. Redknapp concedes his side need a miracle, and though he stresses "miracles do happen", Mourinho warned that five goals will not be enough against his hungry charges. The winners face FC Barcelona at home on 27 April and away on 3 May.

Harry Redknapp, Tottenham manager
We played well on Saturday so we're in a good frame of mind. It's a fantastic game to look forward to though we'd like to be a lot closer. The first leg didn't go our way but it's a great game to look forward to – Real Madrid at White Hart Lane in the last eight of the Champions League. The fans are looking forward to it and so are the players. We'll give it our best shot; that's all we can do. Hopefully we'll play very well and make a real game of it.

We've got to turn in a great performance and see where it takes us. You can't be that open against a team with world-class players. We can't bomb forward, get ripped apart on the counterattack and get hammered. We've got to be controlled and take our chances if they come. Everyone feels the tie is over and we know it will take a miracle, but miracles do happen. If we play very well then you never know.

It's been a great run and we've enjoyed every minute. Every game has been fantastic, home and away, and we've been involved in some amazing games. When we came into this, we would have taken being in the last eight. I saw Fulham at home to Juventus last year [in the UEFA Europa League round of 16]. They were 3-1 down after the first leg then 1-0 down at home but won the tie, so nothing is impossible.

José Mourinho, Madrid coach
We have to respect Tottenham and football because sometimes football can betray you: we cannot give it the chance to. That's why we come here to play seriously. We know the mentality of English players, supporters and teams. They will try everything and if I was in Harry Redknapp's position I would not throw the towel in. I would try everything to make the miracle happen. We have to respect the opponents but at the same time I don't think five goals will be enough for Tottenham as we are coming here to score goals.

Our objective is to get through to the next round. If we were to lose 4-2 or 5-2 we would be in the semi-finals but Madrid don't go into matches thinking like that. We're unbeaten [in the UEFA Champions League this season] and justifiably proud of that record. It would be better to maintain that and carry it on into next season. It's all about improving and keeping the confidence going.

Some of the players are in a complicated situation [Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Ricardo Carvalho, Ángel Di María and Raúl Albiol are all within a booking of suspension]. Players must be intelligent and aware – they know their own situation. We must respect the opponents and football so I will pick the team with the best chance to win the game. It's a big match; we want to be in the semi-final and the job is not done.

Team news
• Tottenham
Redknapp's personnel worries eased on Saturday when Younes Kaboul and Tom Huddlestone made their first appearances of 2011. Vedran Ćorluka shook off an ankle problem to line up at right-back though he suffered a similar injury and is a minor doubt for Wednesday. Aaron Lennon, a late withdrawal with illness in Madrid, is availablefor a side shorn of the suspended Peter Crouch.

• Madrid
Sami Khedira is back after missing Saturday's Athletic Club win with flu and Karim Benzema is poised to return after a fortnight out with a torn hamstring. Pedro León, Fernando Gago and Lassana Diarra all sat out training on Tuesday, while Pepe is suspended following his first-leg booking.

Weekend results
Saturday: Tottenham 3-2 Stoke City FC
(Crouch 11 34, Modrić 18; Etherington 27 Jones 41)
Crouch doubled his tally in the Premier League this season either side of Luka Modrić's strike, but superb individual efforts from Matthew Etherington and Kenwyne Jones kept Stoke in the match and they almost grabbed a point but Jonathan Walters' effort came back off the post.

Saturday: Athletic Club 0-3 Madrid
(Kaká 13pen 54pen, Ronaldo 70)
Despite a seventh win in eight games Madrid remain eight points adrift of FC Barcelona at the top going into next weekend's meeting. Kaká doubled his tally for the season from the spot and substitute Cristiano Ronaldo added his 28th of the Liga campaign, one fewer than Lionel Messi.

Did you know?
RC Deportivo La Coruña hold the record for the biggest first-leg defeat overturned in the UEFA Champions League era, losing 4-1 at AC Milan in the 2003/04 quarter-finals but subsequently winning 4-0 at home.

See the match background for more information.