It's all to play for in the Spanish capital on Wednesday night as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich collide in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final.
The spoils were shared in Munich last week as Vinicius Junior scored the first and final goals in a 2-2 draw. The Brazilian made the most of an overzealous Kim Min-jae to ensure Los Blancos took a result into the return leg.
However, Bayern, despite losing at the weekend, will take plenty of inspiration heading into Wednesday's monumental bout. The Germans were impressive for much of the first leg and a more clinical first half would have surely seen them take a lead to the Bernabeu.
These two European behemoths have clashed many times on this grand stage, with Madrid, who were crowned La Liga champions at the weekend, typically coming out on top. Bayern, however, have a pretty impressive record at the Bernabeu (after 90 minutes), although Carlo Ancelotti's side very rarely exit this competition having avoided defeat away from home in the first leg. In fact, the La Liga champions have advanced from 18 of their previous 19 such ties.
Expect Wednesday night to be drenched with heritage and chaos, with the victor advancing into the 1 June final at Wembley.
Here's 90min's preview of the game.
Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
Real Madrid | Bayern Munich |
|---|---|
Real Madrid 3-0 Cadiz - 04/05/24 | Stuttgart 3-1 Bayern Munich - 04/05/24 |
Bayern Munich 2-2 Real Madrid - 30/04/24 | Bayern Munich 2-2 Real Madrid - 30/04/24 |
Real Sociedad 0-1 Real Madrid - 26/04/24 | Bayern Munich 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt - 27/04/24 |
Real Madrid 3-2 Barcelona - 21/04/24 | Union Berlin 1-5 Bayern Munich - 20/04/24 |
Man City 1-1 (3-4p) Real Madrid - 17/04/24 | Bayern Munich 1-0 Arsenal - 17/04/24 |
Country | TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | discovery+ App, TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate, discovery+ |
United States | TUDN.com, Paramount+, CBS, Univision, Univision NOW, TUDN USA, TUDN App |
Canada | DAZN |
The hosts enter the second leg with a clean bill of health and Ancelotti will welcome Dani Carvajal back into his starting lineup after he missed last week's draw in Munich through suspension.
Carvajal, who started against Cadiz on Saturday, will replace Lucas Vazquez at right-back.
Toni Kroos, Ferland Mendy, Rodrygo and Antonio Rudiger are among the players who earned rests at the weekend.
Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Bayern Munich (4-3-1-2): Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Tchouameni, Kroos, Valverde; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr.
Bayern, on the contrary, have a lengthy list of potential absentees.
Raphael Guerreiro is set to miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury, while Eric Dier is a doubt with a head issue. Bouna Sarr and Sacha Boey won't feature.
Matthijs de Ligt has returned to training and should be in contention for the second leg.
Bayern Munich predicted lineup vs Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Kimmich, Dier, De Ligt, Mazraoui; Laimer, Goretzka; Sane, Muller, Musiala; Kane.
What's Thomas Tuchel got up his sleeve on Wednesday night? The German coached the first leg superbly and betting against the meticulous German in a one-off encounter is tough.
There will be less onus on the visitors to dominate possession away from home and there's no doubt this more reactive style suits Bayern despite their wealth of talent. They boast the transition speed to hurt Madrid, who will once again be relying upon sequences of majesty from their stars.
Tuchel's likely ploy gives Bayern a great chance of progressing and it wouldn't be a surprise if this one went the distance. If it does go to a shootout, it's anyone's game. Perhaps Bayern will rekindle the spirit of 2012.