Real Madrid and Manchester City meet Tuesday for the first leg of their titanic UEFA Champions League semifinal tie. The pair know that the winner will face Italian opposition in the eventual final while many feel that this could be something of a final before the real one. A rematch of last season’s semi which saw eventual winners Real triumph 6-5 on aggregate, this one promises to be another epic installment between these two side.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Tuesday, May 9 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Santiago Bernabeu — Madrid, Spain
- TV and live stream: Paramount+ and CBS Sports
- Odds: Real +210; Draw: +270; City +115 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
How they got here
Real: Finished first in Group F and ahead of RB Leipzig by one point with Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic lagging behind both sides. Into the knockout phase and Carlo Ancelotti’s men blew Liverpool away 6-2 on aggregate in the round of 16 before thumping Chelsea across both quarterfinal legs 4-0 to set up this City showdown. Vinicius Junior leads the team for both goals and assist with six apiece although this is usually where Karim Benzema comes into his own.
City: Topped Group G with 14 points from a possible 18, finishing five points ahead of Bayern’s Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund in a group which also featured Sevilla and Copenhagen. Next up for Guardiola’s men in the round of 16 was RB Leipzig who were blown away 8-1 on aggregate after a 7-0 second-leg thrashing at the hands of a merciless Haaland who hit five alone. City were good value for their 3-0 first-leg win and are now heavy favorites to advance to the semifinals.
Team news
Real: Eder Militao is suspended for Los Blancos and will miss the home leg after picking up a booking just before all preexisting yellow cards were wiped for the semis. Ferland Mendy remains doubtful with his calf issue but Luka Modric should feature after making a cameo in the Copa del Rey win. It might be Aurelien Tchouameni who drops out for the Croat magician with Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba pairing up with no Militao.
Possible Real XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, Camavinga; Valverde, Kroos, Modric; Rodrygo, Benzema (c), Vinicius Jr.
City: Nathan Ake suffered what seemed to be a hamstring problem against Leeds United and is a significant doubt. Kyle Walker might be needed to shackle Vinicius Junior while Rodri, John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish should all start after Pep Guardiola rested his players over the weekend. Erling Haaland remains the most lethal striker in this year’s edition and will be a marked man once more here with a goal every 58 minutes — the best ratio in UCL history.
Possible City XI: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan (c), Grealish; Haaland.
Prediction
This one should be tight with both teams scoring and no clear advantage for either side heading into the second leg. Expect Thibaut Courtois to be kept busy and potentially decisive in keeping Real alive for the trip to Manchester. Pick: Real 1, City 1.