Manchester City, the runner-up of the last season's UEFA Champions League (UCL) will hope to learn from past mistakes as it takes on Real Madrid in the UCL semifinals on Tuesday.
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Pep Guardiola's side has already established its dominance over a Spanish side in the quarterfinals ousting Atletico Madrid and will hope for a similar result in a replay of the 2019-20 UCL round-of-16 fixture against Real Madrid.
Guardiola made history when he made it to nine Champions League semifinals and will continue his pursuit for a maiden UCL title with the Cityzens.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, suffered an exit last year at this very stage of the tournament and will look to play its first final after three years. Last time, the stone in its shoe was also an English opponent -- Chelsea, one which it beat in the previous round.
Carlo Ancelotti has stressed that Real was a side he could "never say no to" and having led his side to the top of the LaLiga table, the Italian will now look to conquer Europe.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Manchester City and Real Madrid have met six times in competitive fixtures in the past and each team has won two matches each, while the remaining two matches have ended as draws.
- Manchester City 2-1 Real Madrid
- Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City
- Real Madrid 1-0 Manchester City
- Manchester City 0-0 Real Madrid
- Manchester City 1-1 Real Madrid
- Real Madrid 3-2 Manchester City
TEAM FORM: Manchester City comes into the match with two wins from its last five matches in all competitions, including a loss to Liverpool in the FA Cup semifinals.
Man City's last five matches:
- 5-1 Win vs Watford (Premier League)
- 3-0 Win vs Brighton and Hove Albion (Premier League)
- 2-3 Loss vs Liverpool (FA Cup semifinal)
- 0-0 Draw vs Atletico Madrid (UEFA Champions League)
- 2-2 Draw vs Liverpool (Premier League)
Real Madrid's last five matches:
- 3-1 Win vs Osasuna (LaLiga)
- 3-2 Win vs Sevilla (LaLiga)
- 2-3 Loss vs Chelsea (UEFA Champions League)
- 2-0 Win vs Getafe (LaLiga)
- 3-1 Win vs Chelsea (LaLiga)
Players to look out for:
Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City: The 30-year-old Belgian has been instrumental to Manchester City's Champions League run this season, with him scoring the winner in the quarterfinals against Atletico Madrid.
With over 250 appearances for the club, De Bruyne has been the lynchpin of the City midfield.
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Karim Benzema, Real Madrid: Carlo Ancelotti's men have made making comebacks a habit in the Champions League with phenomenal wins against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Chelsea in the round-of-16 and the quarterfinals respectively.
The man at the centre of both comebacks has been the 34-year-old from France - Karim Benzema. Scoring hat-tricks in consecutive matches, Benzema headed in the decisive goal against Chelsea to take Real into its 31st semifinal in the Champions League.
What have the managers said?
Pep Gardiola, Manchester City
Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid
Predicted Lineups:
Manchester City Predicted XI: Ederson (GK), Zinchenko, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake, Gundogan, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling
Real Madrid Predicted XI: Thibaut Courtois (GK), Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Rodrygo, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
When and where to watch the UEFA Champions League semifinal?
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