No teams have reached the semi-finals of the European Cup more than Bayern Munich and Real Madrid and now these two giants are set to go head to head in the first of their last-four showdowns on Tuesday night (Bayern 13/8, draw 12/5, Real Madrid 17/10 – 90 minutes).
Bundesliga giants Bayern have reached the last four of this competition 14 times and have only been bettered by their upcoming opponents at the Allianz Arena, with Real playing in an astonishing 23 semi-finals in this tournament.
So this stage of the Champions League is nothing new for these European powerhouses and games in this competition don’t get much bigger than this.
Having lost to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga this month, Bayern are all but out of the race for their domestic title, which will give them the freedom to focus on getting past Madrid over the next couple of weeks.
That’s clearly the mindset of the Bavarian outfit, who decided to rest key players in the form of Mario Gomez, Toni Kroos and Frank Ribery for their last Bundesliga outing.
Gomez (9/2 first goalscorer) is a key figure in the Bayern side and he will certainly be causing the likes of Pepe and Sergio Ramos in the Real defence problems.
With the likes of Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Arjen Robben all capable of a bit of magic in the middle of the park, it should be an intruding battle in the midfield.
Real find themselves just four points clear of rivals Barcelona in La Liga, having held a 10 point lead over the Catalan outfit earlier in the campaign.
Manager Jose Mourinho has to battle on a couple of fronts and he will have some concerns about Barca closing the gap in league, going into this all-important Champions League encounter.
It would be impossible to do a preview on this game without mentioning Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (7/2 first goalscorer) who has already notched up an astonishing 41 goals in La Liga this season.
The 27-year-old has added eight goals in as many games in the Champions League this term to that tally and the former Manchester United star will certainly have the focus on him on Tuesday night.
With Angel Di Maria returning to fitness and Karim Benzema getting back into some decent form, Real certainly have threats all over the pitch.
Neither side particularly has the tightest of defences so expect goals in this semi-final clash at the Allianz Arena.
These two giants are fairly evenly matched and a draw with a number goals is not beyond the realm of possibility.
A 2-2 (12/1 correct score) draw would put Madrid in a strong position, with away goals potentially making a huge difference, in what are set to be two thrilling legs of Champions League football.
Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.