CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:  Real Madrid will expect no favours from AC Milan when they play for their Champions League future against Lokomotiv Moscow tonight - and they will not be looking for excuses if they fail to advance.

Real need to win their final Group C match in Russia to make certain of taking their place in the quarter-finals.

Whatever the result in Moscow, Real will qualify as long as Borussia Dortmund do not beat the Italians, but the reigning European champions insist they are not expecting a helping hand.

"The good thing is that we only depend upon ourselves to reach the quarter-finals," goalkeeper Iker Casillas told Real's official website yesterday.

"If we get into trouble we'll know we've messed things up by ourselves. Winning is an obligation for us in this game.

"We can all have an off day but I hope we're all focused for this game and that we achieve our objective.

"We're not going to be thinking about what's happening in the San Siro. If we put ourselves 3-0 up by half-time we won't have to think about anything else."

The Spanish club, who have lost on their last three visits to Moscow, are expecting a less than perfect pitch, but they have been pleasantly surprised by the relatively mild weather in the Russian capital for what will be a nerve-jangling game.

"It's all going to be decided on the turn of this card," Casillas said. "One stupid mistake or a poor piece of play could see us knocked out.

"The pitch conditions and the weather are different from what we're used to and those factors will have to be taken into account . . . (but) it's not as cold as it has been on previous visits and that's positive for us.

"We want to show we can win this game. Afterwards we've got a five-hour flight back and that will seem like a very long journey if we don't seal our place in the quarter-finals."

The Russians held Real to a 2-2 draw in Madrid in December and coach Yuri Syomin has promised not to go out quietly. "The team's pride is at stake here," said Syomin. "Besides, the more points we get, the better Russia's UEFA ratings will be in future."

PROBABLE TEAMS

LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW: Sergei Ovchinnikov; Gennady Nizhegorodov, Jakob Lekgetho, Sergei Ignashevich, Oleg Pashinin, Vadim Yevseyev, Marat Izmailov, Vladimir Maminov, Dmitry Loskov, Julio Cesar, Ruslan Pimenov.

REAL MADRID: Iker Casillas; Michel Salgado, Francisco Pavon, Ivan Helguera, Santiago Solari; Luis Figo, Claude Makelele, Flavio Conceicao, Zinedine Zidane; Raul, Ronaldo

Referee: Claude Colombo (France)