For the 28th time in their long and illustrious histories, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich will cross paths in the Champions League, this time in the second leg of their semi-final at the Bernabeu on Wednesday evening.
The two former conquerors of Europe shook hands on a pulsating 2-2 stalemate at the Allianz Arena last week, and either Borussia Dortmund or Paris Saint-Germain shall lie in wait for the Bernabeu victor.
The reigning Spanish champions have navigated each of their last 20 games without defeat since January’s Copa del Rey exit at the hands of local foes Atletico Madrid, and by the time Wednesday’s game rolls around, it would have been exactly 13 months to the day that 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 crown ripped out of their grasp by Bayer Leverkusen and are yet to even secure a top-three finish in the top flight
Thomas Tuchel’s men at least appeared to be ending the Bundesliga campaign with a flourish, claiming three straight victories before Saturday’s trip to Stuttgart, but their hosts blew the race for second place wide open with a 3-1 triumph, albeit against a weakened FC Hollywood contingent.
Kane’s 36th strike of the Bundesliga campaign from the penalty spot was minimal consolation for Bayern, whose springtime injury crisis worsened with the loss of defensive duo Eric Dier and Raphael Guerrero at MHPArena, an extremely worrying sight amid their rearguard woes on the road.
Indeed, Bayern have not kept a single clean sheet away from home in 2024 – last shutting out Manchester United in December – and they have shipped multiple goals in eight of their last 10 on rival territory, winning on just three occasions in that abysmal spell.
The defensive misery does not end there for Bayern, who have also gone 16 games without a clean sheet against Real Madrid and have never got one over Ancelotti in nine previous attempts versus the distinguished Blancos boss; no team has ever experienced a worse winless run against a particular manager in the Champions League.
Real Madrid had more than one reason to celebrate at the weekend, as the triumph over Cadiz marked the return of Thibaut Courtois from his second knee injury of the season, but the hero of the 2022 Champions League final will not displace Andriy lunin in between the sticks on Wednesday.
Courtois’s comeback and Dani Carvajal’s return from a European suspension means that erstwhile Bayern defender David Alaba is the only absentee for Ancelotti to contend with for the second leg, and changes will be made in abundance after the Real coach went with a second-string XI for the Cadiz success.
Vinicius, Jide Bellingham , Rodrygo, Toni Kroos and Frederick Valverde will be among the troops to return, but Ancelotti should opt against retaining Elder Militao still not quite firing on all cylinders after his ACL injury.
In stark contrast, the Bayern infirmary remains well-occupied, as Guerreiro is expected to miss the remainder of the season due to the ankle injury he picked up against Stuttgart, while a bloodied Dier – who had also been nursing a slight thigh injury – came off at half time in the same match.
Dier’s change was precautionary in nature, though, so the ex-Tottenham Hotspur man is expected to reprise his role on Wednesday, while Mathhijs dey light is also on the brink of returning from a knee problem and could reinforce Tuchel’s ranks further.
However, Kingsley Coman’s groin injury will render him unavailable again, while Sacha Boey (hip), Boundaries Sarr (ACL) and Tarela Buchman (hamstring) will also watch the second leg from the sidelines.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Kroos; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Kimmich, Dier, De Ligt, Mazraoui; Goretzka, Laimer; Sane, Musiala, Gnabry; Kane
Prediction – Over 1.5
