Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane have returned from injury as Real Madrid aim for a traditional "remontada" comeback in Tuesday evening's Champions League quarterfinal second leg at home to Wolfsburg.
Wolfsburg shocked Madrid by winning 2-0 in last week's first leg in Germany, and Zinedine Zidane's side face a tough challenge at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Benzema was substituted before half-time in the first leg after spending 20 minutes on the pitch trying unsuccessfully to recover from a knee problem picked up early in the game, while Varane has not played since suffering an apparent calf muscle issue with France during the recent international break.
Both players missed Saturday's comfortable 4-0 La Liga win at home to Eibar, but have been included by Zidane in his 22-man preliminary squad for Tuesday's fixture.
"Zinedine Zidane has called up the 22 first team players and Castilla forward Borja Mayoral for the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal match that Real Madrid will play against Wolfsburg at the Santiago Bernabeu (Tuesday 8:45 p.m. CEST)," a club statement said.
Although Zidane and midfielder Luka Modric have called on the team to be patient and calm in Tuesday's game, many in the local media have been cranking up talk of historic "remontada" comeback nights through history, when teams such as Inter Milan, Celtic, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Anderlecht and Bayern Munich were beaten in second legs at the Bernabeu.
However, Madrid have not overturned a first-leg deficit in Europe since 2002 -- with Lyon, Roma, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern and Juventus having protected a first-leg advantage and progressed.
Former Blancos striker Santillana told AS about how in former days opponents who came to the Bernabeu trying to defend a lead had found it tough.
"We did not have many of the best players in the world, like they have now," Santillana said. "But from the shower, after losing the first leg, we began to talk amongst ourselves.
"People like [Jose Antonio] Camacho, Juanito, [Isidoro] San Jose, [Uli] Stielike and myself. There was a daily motivation until the return game arrived. And we went out to pressure them a lot, not let them play at all, right on the limit of the law, because in those days you could get away with a lot more.
"We said 'Here we are, and we are going to make you suffer right until the end.' And we had 120,000 going crazy in the stadium."
Such physical and psychological pressure is less permissible nowadays, but Santillana remains confident Madrid can do what it takes to progress on Tuesday.
"I believe it looks good," he said. "I trust a lot in Madrid. They are a better team than Wolfsburg even though they had a bad day in the first leg. If Madrid are at 100 percent, they can come back against anyone. That is for sure."
