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Mourinho wary of APOEL test Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has promised his players will not underestimate APOEL Nicosia in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final despite seemingly already having one foot in the last four.

The Primera Division leaders triumphed 3-0 in Cyprus last Tuesday to all-but secure their progress, substitute Kaka scoring after setting up the first of Karim Benzema's late brace.

But Mourinho insisted he would not be taking anything for granted against the Cypriot underdogs - whose giant-killing run has accounted for Lyon, Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk - and claimed he planned to stick closely to the winning formula which saw the capital club triumph 5-1 at Osasuna on Saturday.

"There won't be many changes in the line-up," he said at his pre-match press conference.

"The only one who played in Pamplona and isn't on the list is (Alvaro) Arbeloa. The rest have been called up to play. Pepe is here with me (at the press conference) because he will play.

"It is a Champions League match and we have a very good aggregate. Very few believe APOEL will score four goals at the Bernabeu, but football is football and we must respect the crowd expecting a good football match, and we must especially respect our opponent." Mourinho's men head into the Bernabeu encounter boasting a six-point advantage over champions Barcelona at the summit of La Liga.

Draws against Malaga and Villarreal last month allowed Barca to cut Madrid's lead from 10 points to six, but the Portuguese does not feel his side will be adversely affected by thoughts of the title race or their recent exertions.

"My players are fine," he said. "They don't feel tired. They are confident and all want to play.

"We've earned very good numbers in the Champions League these last couple of years. We've obtained many victories, few draws and only one defeat. We want to continue doing a good job and earn another victory tomorrow.

"I only want my team to win and to play well. We've been obtaining good results - regardless of who plays - from the very beginning of the season, which is very important to me.

"This group is strong and united. We've always felt the same way and we will stick together to the end. We will cry or laugh together on the very last day." Lassana Diarra and Ricardo Carvalho remain sidelined through injury but will train with the team on Friday, but Xabi Alonso is available again after suspension and Angel Di Maria will look to continue his comeback from a thigh injury after coming off the bench at the weekend.

"Di Maria's injury is complicated," Mourinho added.

"He's been training at full pace for 10 days, but that's not the same as playing matches.

"He benefited from the 10 minutes he played in Pamplona and he will play more tomorrow, but not the entire game. He is very important to the team and we've missed him despite earning positive results." APOEL lost key defender Marcelo Oliveira to injury inside 10 minutes last week after his standing leg twisted under him as he overcommitted in a tackle, and he misses the second leg along with forward Ivan Trickovski (broken hand).

Coach Ivan Jovanovic could also be without striker Ailton due to a virus, while wing-back Nektarios Alexandrou (groin) and midfielder Athos Solomou (shin) are also doubtful.

Jovanovic acknowledged scoring four goals at the Bernabeu would be virtually impossible for his side, but if his team do get knocked out of the competition they will do so with their heads held high.

"Madrid are in the semi-finals - there's no question about that," the Serbian told the Cyprus Mail.

"The second leg will be harder (than the game in Nicosia). We need to try to exit the competition in the best possible fashion.

Real Madrid vs Apoel Nicosia

Last modified 22:07 04/04/12

Madrid hammer APOEL Real Madrid coasted past APOEL Nicosia 5-2 on the night to set-up a Champions League semi-final clash with Bayern Munich.

Already leading 3-0 from the first-leg the hosts started brightly but had to wait until the 25th minute to open the scoring as Cristiano Ronaldo tapped home Marcelo's cross at the back post.

Kaka doubled Real's lead with a stunning effort from outside the area nine minutes before half-time, but the goal of the night was arguably scored by Gustavo Manduca as he pulled one back for the visitors after a flowing team move midway through the second half.

Ronaldo soon restored the hosts' two-goal advantage and substitutes Jose Maria Callejon and Angel Di Maria added further goals either side of Esteban Solari's 82nd-minute penalty for the visitors.

Jose Mourinho took the chance to rest some of his established stars as Xabi Alonso, Mesut Ozil and Karim Benzema started on the bench, but the Portuguese coach still named a strong side that had far too much for their Cypriot opponents from the off.

APOEL manager Ivan Jovanovic had claimed before the game that his side "never play with fear" but they certainly appeared nervous early on as two defensive errors nearly handed Madrid the opener within the first four minutes.

Firstly, Gonzalo Higuain could only head William Boaventura's misguided clearance wide before Savvas Poursaitides presented Ronaldo with a great chance but the Portuguese fired straight at Urko Pardo.

Ronaldo did eventually get his 48th goal of the season when he bundled the ball home after Higuain had failed to get a telling touch on Marcelo's cross.

Hamit Altintop fluffed his lines after being played in by Higuain and Kaka saw another effort fly just over - but the Brazilian had been the pick of those on show in the first 45 and he deservedly scored the second goal with a brilliant curling effort which bent just inside Pardo's left-hand post.

The former Milan playmaker nearly replicated that effort from Ronaldo's clever pass five minutes before the break but this time saw the ball clip the outside of the post.

To APOEL's credit they took advantage of the hosts sloppiness at the beginning of the second half and gave their travelling hordes of fans a moment to treasure with 23 minutes remaining as a wonderful team move ended with Ailton slipping the ball through to Manduca, who slotted calmly past Iker Casillas to record his fourth Champions League goal of the season.

Constantinos Charalambides was denied a spectacular equaliser moments later as Casillas produced a fingertip save to divert his drive behind for a corner but Ronaldo soon put an end to any hopes of a heroic comeback as having gone all season without scoring from a free-kick he made it two in two games with a stunning effort from wide on the left.

Callejon then added a fourth as he cut in from the left to finish low beyond Pardo, but the Cypriots responded again and got their second goal when Solari netted from the spot after Aldo Adorno had been upended by Altintop.

However, Di Maria had the final say when he rounded off a fine night for the nine-times winners as he lofted a wonderful chip over Pardo.