Real Madrid welcome Bayern Munich to the Bernabeu Stadium on Tuesday for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Madrid produced a brilliant performance across two legs to beat Manchester City 5-1 on aggregate in the round of 16.
Bayern were also magnificent in the previous round, thrashing Italian side Atalanta 10-2 on aggregate.
Match preview
Madrid head into the clash off the back of a 2-1 defeat at Real Mallorca in La Liga, leaving them seven points behind leaders Barcelona.
They must put that disappointment behind them to defeat an in-form Bayern side.
Madrid have a good home record in the Champions League this term, winning four and losing just once.
The Los Blancos are fifth for goals scored (29), sixth for goals conceded (14), and third for big chances created (48).
They have collected more yellow cards and red cards than any other side, highlighting their combative nature.
Madrid have faced Bayern 28 times in the competition, winning 13, losing 11 and drawing four. They have lost to the Bavarians at home in normal time only twice.
The hosts will look to exploit Bayern’s defence with the pace of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior. The pair rank first and seventh, respectively, in top speed.
Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham will also provide additional goalscoring threats.
Bayern came from behind to claim a 3-2 victory at Freiburg on Saturday, giving them the momentum ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with Madrid.
They rank first in big chances created (56), second in goals scored (32), and third in total shots per game (18.9), highlighting their attacking prowess. They have also conceded the third fewest goals.
Michael Olise is Bayern’s chief creator, sitting joint-first for assists and key passes per game. He is also joint-second for big chances created.
Harry Kane will be the focal point in attack, while Luis Diaz and Lennart Karl will provide additional goal threats.
Bayern have won four and lost just one of their away games. They will aim to build on their impressive record on the road here.
Team news
Madrid will be without first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Ferland Mendy, Daniel Ceballos and Rodrygo are also injured.
Kane missed the comeback victory at Freiburg, but is expected to be available for this clash, leaving goalkeeper Sven Ulreich as Bayern’s only fitness concern.
Predicted line-ups
Real Madrid (4-4-2): Andriy Lunin, Alvaro Carreras, Dean Huijsen, Antonio Rudiger, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, Arder Guler, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe.
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Manuel Neuer, Josip Stanisic, Dayot Upamecano, Jonathan Tah, Tomas Bischof, Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich, Luis Diaz, Lennart Karl, Michael Olise, Harry Kane.
Prediction
We predict a 2-2 draw.
Stats from uefa.com, whoscored.com & sofascore.com.
