Manchester City face a daunting task as they travel to Real Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. Last season, City were left heartbroken after conceding two late goals to Rodrygo and Karim Benzema, with the latter scoring a decisive penalty in extra time. This time, however, City have a real head of steam, having gone unbeaten in 20 matches and winning 17 of them. They are still in contention for the Treble, with only Madrid, Everton, Chelsea, Brighton and Brentford left to play in the league, plus the FA Cup final against Manchester United.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, have had mixed form recently, having lost two of their last three LaLiga matches. However, they have been boosted by their 2-1 win in the Copa del Rey final against Osasuna, with Rodrygo scoring a brace. City have their own star player in Erling Haaland, who has scored 51 goals in all competitions this season. He has been a sensation in Europe, most notably when he fired five past RB Leipzig in the last 16 and both quarter-final legs against Bayern Munich.
In addition to the on-pitch matters, there is also the transfer speculation surrounding Jude Bellingham. Reports from Spain claim Madrid have already stolen a march in the race to sign him. Meanwhile, Madrid’s midfield trio of Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric appear harder to shift, with Kroos signing a new one-year deal and Modric set to follow suit. City also have injury concerns over their own midfield talisman Kevin de Bruyne, who returned from a two-game absence to play the full 90 minutes against Leeds.