Who: Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich
Content: Champions League quarter-final first leg
Location: Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain
Date and time: Tuesday, April 7th, 9pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: Get everything ready on Al Jazeera Sports from 16:00 GMT ahead of the live text commentary stream.
Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich visited Real Madrid looking like the most complete team in Europe, boosted by the expected return of superstar striker Harry Kane.
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Kane, who has scored 48 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions this season, missed Bayern’s 3-2 Bundesliga win against Freiburg on Saturday due to an ankle problem.
“He will play in a wheelchair,” Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich said, adding Kompany had a “hunch” that the England striker would be ready for the game against Madrid.
Despite Madrid’s fame and attacking star group that includes Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and City’s hat-trick hero Federico Valverde, Bayern are undoubtedly the favorites to lift the trophy.
Madrid, who have won a record 15 times, have endured a difficult season plagued by instability, but have made a habit of achieving the unexpected in this competition.
Just when the magic of the Champions League seemed to have dried up, Madrid produced their best performance of the season, defeating Josep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the last 16.
“We feel invincible at the moment.”
Michael Olise and Luis Diaz joined Kane in attack, and Kompany’s team played an aggressive, high-pressing style, helping them beat Atalanta 10-2 on aggregate in the last 16.
At the weekend, Bayern came from two points behind to beat Freiburg, and winner Lennart Karl said fighting spirit was important ahead of the match against Madrid.
“It gives us a lot of confidence, which was very important. We feel like we are actually invincible at the moment,” he said, whose last defeat for Bayern was in January, 14 games ago.
Madrid have lost four times in the same period and manager Alvaro Arbeloa, like Xabi Alonso and Carlo Ancelotti before him, is struggling to find the right balance when all his superstars are fit.
“They may not be playing the best football, but they are outstanding in terms of experience,” said Bayern honorary president Uli Hoeneß.
“It would be presumptuous to think that we will definitely move forward,” he added. “But it’s been a while since we’ve had such a great chance as we have this year in terms of quality of play.”
“I know what the players are capable of.”
Madrid suffered a disappointing defeat to Mallorca in La Liga on Saturday, leaving them seven points behind rivals Barcelona in the race for the Spanish title.
Arbeloa dismissed the defeat and said it would not affect the team’s performance against Bayern, the club’s favorite match.
“I know the players’ abilities and I know they understand the importance of Tuesday’s game,” Arbeloa told reporters.
“The demands on the team will be maximum and we know the support that the Madrid fans will give us. Having them will make everything easier.”
Bernabéu demands ‘nerves of steel’
Bayern are well aware of the impact that Madrid’s supporters can have on Europe’s biggest night at the Bernabéu, and the weight of their history, along with their sublime individual qualities, has helped Los Blancos achieve remarkable results even against the odds.
Bayern powerbroker Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: “The stadium and the fans will turn into a hurricane that will attack the enemy along with the team.”
“You’ll need nerves of steel, you’ll have to keep your cool, you’ll have to be mentally prepared…This is not just an ordinary match. It’s going to be the toughest test.”
Two Bayern players understand that goalkeepers Manuel Neuer and Sven Ulreich are better than others. Both have had success with the Bernabéu pressure cooker before.
In the 2018 semi-final, Ulreich went to receive a backpass, but suddenly realized his mistake and let the pass slip into the empty net for Karim Benzema.
Madrid won that draw, as they had in all four previous knockout matches against Bayern. In each year, they went on to hoist the trophy.
In the 2024 semi-final, former Stoke City striker Josel scored two goals in the dying moments of the second leg, the first of which was due to a handling error by Neuer, and Bayern were eliminated.
direct confrontation
No other team has faced more opponents in this competition, and Tuesday’s game will be the 29th time Madrid and Bayern will meet.
Each club has won 12 games against their opponents, with four of those matches ending in draws.
The German giants last eliminated Los Blancos in 2012, but this year they believe they have finally found the quality to rewrite the story of the past decade.
Last 10 encounters:
May 8, 2024: Real Madrid 2-1 Bayern (Champions League semi-final) April 30, 2024: Bayern 2-2 Real Madrid (Champions League semi-final) May 1, 2018: Real Madrid 2-2 Bayern (Champions League semi-final) April 25, 2018: Bayern 1-2 Real Madrid (Champions League semi-final) April 18, 2017: Real Madrid 4-2 Bayern (Champions League quarter-finals) April 12, 2017: Bayern 1-2 Real Madrid (Champions League quarter-finals) April 29, 2014: Bayern 0-4 Real Madrid (Champions League semi-finals) April 23, 2014: Real Madrid 1-0 Bayern (Champions League semi-final) April 25, 2012: Real Madrid 2-1 Bayern (p) (Champions League semi-final) April 17, 2012: Bayern 2-1 Real Madrid (Champions League semi-final)
madrid team news
First-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is Real Madrid’s biggest absentee, having been sidelined for around six weeks with a thigh injury suffered in the last-16 second-leg win against Man City. Andriy Lunin is expected to play between the sticks again in Courtois’ absence.
Rodrygo is also sidelined with injury, and doubts remain over Ferland Mendy and Dani Ceballos.
However, main midfielder Federico Valverde is expected to return to the team following his suspension in La Liga.
Jude Bellingham may have to be content with a start on the bench as he works his way back to full fitness following a hamstring injury.
Expected lineup:
Lunin (goalkeeper); Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huysen, Carreras. Valverde, Choameni, Pitarci, Güler. Mbappe, Vinicius Jr.
bayern team news
Ulreich, Cassiano Chiara, David Santos and Wisdom Mike are all ruled out through injury, with Kane facing a late fitness assessment.
If Kane is unable to play, Nicholas Jackson is expected to lead the line.
Olise and Kimmich are expected to return from suspension in the last 16.
Expected lineup:
Neuer (goalkeeper) Stanic, Upamecano, Tarr, Reimer. Kimmich, Goretzka. Olise, Gnabry, Diaz. Kane.
