By Sedara Philip
The UEFA Champions League semi-finals kick off at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night, with perennial winners Real Madrid hosting English hopefuls Manchester City
Boasting a mammoth 14 European Cup/Champions League titles, Real Madrid have won five of the previous nine editions of the tournament, including last season.
Man City, on the other hand, are still waiting for the first European triumph, having fallen to Chelsea in the 2020-21 UCL final.
Real Madrid head into Tuesday’s showdown on the back of a Copa del Rey final victory over Osasuna, with Brazilian winger Rodrygo bagging a brace in the 2-1 win.
That said, Los Blancos have lost two of their last three La Liga matches – and four of their previous eight – losing sight of Barcelona in the race for the title.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men kicked off their Champions League campaign by losing one of their six group games before dispatching Liverpool and Chelsea to reach the semi-finals.
Having already knocked out two Premier League sides, Real Madrid will be hopeful of inflicting the same pain on another English opponent.
As for Manchester City, they enjoyed an unbeaten group-stage campaign before seeing off RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich to reach the last four.
Pep Guardiola’s side have recorded six wins and four draws in the UCL this season, scoring 26 goals while conceding just four, with six clean sheets coming along the way.
Thanks to Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Leeds United, Man City enter the first leg on a 20-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, comprising 17 wins and three draws.
Erling Haaland has scored 51 goals in 46 games this season, including 12 goals in eight Champions League appearances, making him the deadliest striker in Europe right now
Head-to-head: Real Madrid dispatched Man City in last season’s UCL semi-finals, with the Spanish giants claiming a dramatic 6-5 aggregate victory.
Across the eight Champions League meetings between Real Madrid and City, both sides have picked up three wins, with the last of the two draws coming back in 2016.
Team news: Real Madrid will be without Dani Ceballos (muscle) and Eder Militao (suspension) for the first leg, with Ferland Mendy (calf) is a doubt).
On the flip side, Man City will be without the injured Cole Palmer (ankle), with Nathan Ake (hamstring) is a doubt for the first leg.
Given the even nature of the previous meetings between these two sides, we are set for a close-fought battle at the Bernabeu
