Bayern Munich and Real Madrid meet in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday, having both left Premier League sides to get to this point. The German giants got past Arsenal in the quarter-finals, while the Spanish giants needed penalties to eliminate defending champions Manchester City. This week's first leg at the Allianz Arena will see Bayern need a UCL final appearance to save their season, while Real are on the verge of regaining the La Liga title. Thomas Tuchel's men have not even had success in the DFB Pokal, while Carlo Ancelotti's team also missed out on the domestic cup victory in the Copa del Rey. Harry Kane will look to build on his 400-goal career as Bayern look to maintain a 15-match unbeaten home run in the Champions League, although Real are on an 18-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
Here are our storylines, how to watch the match and more:
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Tuesday April 30 | Time: 3:00 PM ET
- Place: Allianz Arena – Munich, Germany
- TV: CBS
- Watch: Biggest+
- Chances: Bavaria +145; Sign +260; Really +170
How Bayern got here
Bayern defeated Arsenal 3-2 on aggregate in the last eight, after beating Lazio 3-1 over two legs in the round of 16. Before that, the German dropped just two points in Group A to finish top of the group, where Manchester United was also part of it. , Galatasaray and Copenhagen. The deposed Bundesliga kings are in their first Champions League semi-final since 2019/20, when they did everything they could to beat fellow semi-finalists Paris Saint-Germain in the final. PSG's 3-2 win in Bavaria almost three years ago was the last time Bayern suffered a setback in front of their home fans and Tuchel would be keen to return to London for the Wembley final before capping off with a second UCL win after his Chelsea victory. performance.
How Real got here
Real came out on top on penalties in the quarter-final after drawing 3-3 on aggregate against the 2023 champions. Before that, Ancelotti's men defeated RB Leipzig over two legs after topping Group C with a perfect score of 18 points ahead of Napoli, Braga and Union Berlin. Andriy Lunin was the hero from the spot against Pep Guardiola's side, but the truth is that it has been an impressive season from Los Blancos so far, without a single continental defeat so far. Real are unbeaten in ten consecutive UCL matches, which is one step away from equaling the 2016/2017 record, so even a draw against Bayern could maintain that record. Specific to these two encounters, the Spanish giants are unbeaten in six matches with Bayern, having eliminated them in 2013/14, 2016/17 and 2017/18 – all editions ultimately won by Real.
Team news
Bavaria: Alphonso Davies is back after his suspension against Arsenal, which saw Noussair Mazraoui and Raphael Guerreiro come on admirably. Sacha Boey, Gabriel Marusic, Bouna Sarr and Tarek Buchmann are all out, while Tuchel is not yet 100% certain that Konrad Laimer or Matthijs de Ligt will be available. Jamal Musiala is also a doubt, along with Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry, Dayot Upamecano and Kingsley Coman, but only the France international has been ruled out so far.
Potential Bayern XI: Neuer; Kimmich, Kim, Dier, Davies; Goretzka, Pavlović; Müller, Musiala, Gnabry; Kane.
Real: Ancelotti should be boosted by Jude Bellingham's return from illness, while Rodrygo and Ferland Mendy should also be back, meaning Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba are the only major absentees. Lunin should remain in goal, while Bellingham, Rodrygo and Mendy are likely to return to the starting line-up. However, Dani Carvajal is suspended, which probably means a start for Lucas Vazquez in Munich.
Potential real XI: Lunin; Vazquez, Rudiger, Tchouameni, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior.
Prediction
This one promises to be tight, nothing is sewn up after the first leg and both sides have impressive records to protect. With so much at stake, a narrow victory at Bayern on home field sounds plausible, although a draw cannot be ruled out. However, that scenario could well be in favor of Real, who will be looking to advance themselves in next week's second leg in Madrid. Choose: Bayern 1, Real 0.
TV schedule semi-finals
Always US/East
