The two past conquerors of Europe shook hands on a dramatic 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena last week, and Borussia Dortmund will await the Bernabeu winner in this year’s final.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich will meet in the Champions League for the 28th time, in the second leg of their semi-final on Wednesday evening at the Bernabeu. The reigning Spanish champions have gone 20 games without defeat since losing the Copa del Rey to local rivals Atletico Madrid in January, and by the time Wednesday’s game arrives, it will have been exactly 13 months to the day since Real last lost at home in any setting.
Only one of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich could end the season with top-flight and Champions League winners’ medals around their necks, as the visitors to the Spanish capital saw their title snatched away by Bayer Leverkusen and have yet to finish in the top three.
Thomas Tuchel’s side appeared to be finishing the Bundesliga season on a high note, winning three consecutive games before Saturday’s trip to Stuttgart, but their hosts blew the fight for second place wide open with a 3-1 victory, albeit against a depleted FC Hollywood squad.
Indeed, Bayern have not held a single clean sheet away from home in 2024, last shutting out Manchester United in December, and have conceded multiple goals in eight of their previous ten games on opponent territory, winning only three times during that dreadful stretch.
Bayern’s defensive woes don’t stop there; they’ve gone 16 games without a clean sheet against Real Madrid and have never beaten Ancelotti in nine previous meetings; no team has ever had a worse winless streak against a specific manager in the Champions League.
Real Madrid Team News
Real Madrid had more than one reason to celebrate this weekend, as the victory against Cadiz marked Thibaut Courtois’ comeback from his second knee injury of the season, but the hero of the 2022 Champions League final will not replace Andriy Lunin in goal on Wednesday.
Courtois’ return and Dani Carvajal’s return from a European suspension mean that former Bayern defender David Alaba is the only absentee for Ancelotti to deal with in the second leg, and changes will be made in abundance after the Real coach used a second-string XI for the Cadiz victory.
Vinicius, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Toni Kroos, and Federico Valverde will return, but Ancelotti should avoid keeping Eder Militao, who is still not fully functional following his ACL injury.
Bayern Munich Team News
In striking contrast, the Bayern infirmary is still full, as Guerreiro is expected to miss the rest of the season owing to an ankle injury sustained against Stuttgart, while a bloodied Dier – who was already nursing a minor thigh injury – was replaced at halftime in the same game.
Dier’s substitution was precautionary, so the ex-Tottenham Hotspur player is likely to return on Wednesday, while Matthijs de Ligt is also on the verge of returning from a knee injury, which might strengthen Tuchel’s ranks even more.
However, Kingsley Coman’s groyne injury will keep him out of the second leg, while Sacha Boey (hip), Bouna Sarr (ACL), and Tarek Buchmann (hamstring) will be out.
Predicted Lineups
Real Madrid: Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Kroos; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior
Bayern Munich: Neuer; Kimmich, Dier, De Ligt, Mazraoui; Goretzka, Laimer; Sane, Musiala, Gnabry; Harry Kane.
Real Madrid vs FC Bayern Munich Prediction
Real Madrid 3-2 Bayern Munich (Real Madrid win 5-4 on aggregate)
Also Read: Paris St. Germain Vs Borussia Dortmund: UCL Semi-final Match Report
