After a breathless first leg at the Bernabéu, a great European rivalry takes centre-stage again in Germany this week as Real Madrid travel to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich on Wednesday in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Last week, Bayern could have given themselves a lot more breathing room butpurned a number of opportunities to make the scoreline far more comfortable than the eventual 2-1 win that they got. Goals from Luis Díaz and Harry Kane put Bayern in charge of the tie, but Kylian Mbappé's goal in the second half means that Real will still sniff blood in Bavaria on Wednesday night, particularly if they get off to a good start.
In between the two legs of this tie, Real suffered a further blow to their La Liga title hopes, though, as they only managed a 1-1 draw against Girona at home. Bayern, meanwhile, broke little sweat in a 5-0 away win against St. Pauli.
In what will be the 30th iteration of the fixture UEFA competition.
Bayern are perhaps the most in-form side in the competition at the moment, Real are not in great form, but in this tournament, at this stage of this tournament, there's enough evidence to never ever count against Real Madrid before a ball has been kicked.
Here's everything you need to know about the match.
How to watch
The match will be broadcast on Tuesday on HBO Max and Prime Video in the UK, Paramount+ in the U.S., SonyLiv in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live coverage here.
Key Details
Kick-off time: Wednesday, April 15 at 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. ET; 12:30 a.m. IST and 5 a.m. AEST)
Venue: Allianz Arena, Munich
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)
VAR: Pol van Boekel (The Netherlands)
Injury News
Real Madrid
Aurélien Tchouaméni, M: OUT, suspended
Thibaut Courtois, GK: OUT, thigh
Dani Ceballos, M: DOUBT, thigh
Rodrygo, F: OUT, knee
Bayern Munich
Sven Ulreich, GK: OUT, muscle
Talking Points
Michael Olise is key
In the first leg, particularly in the first half, Michael Olise was the best player on the pitch. He gave Álvaro Carreras a torrid time and too often found himself the freedom of the Bernabéu to affect the game as he pleased. He played big parts in both goals, even if not directly, and created a number of other chances that might have been converted had the likes of Serge Gnabry and Luis Díaz been a bit more clinical.
Olise will once again be the thorn in Real's side on Wednesday night. There is no question of Real trying to keep things tight, given the tie's situation, so Olise will once again have the amount of space he needs to be a significant threat on the game.
Real Madrid need to deal with Bayern's high press
Last week, Bayern's high press suffocated Real, who didn't deal with it well at all. In this second leg, without Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards, Real Madrid need to find a solution to their progression of the ball from deep. In the second half of that first leg, the introduction of Jude Bellingham certainly made the difference.
The Englishman was confident enough to receive the ball in deeper areas, and good enough to carry the ball through a high Bayern press -- something that Real were unable to do in a first half that was dominated by Olise and Joshua Kimmich. If Alvaro Arbeloa's team are to sustain hopes of a comeback in Munich, they will have to find a way to win the midfield battle.
Bayern's special season needs its European stamp
The "FC TV" crew react to Bayern Munich's 5-0 victory over FC St. Pauli in the Bundesliga.
Over the weekend, Bayern set a record for the most number of goals in a Bundesliga season and they stand on the cusp of yet another league title. This has been a sensational season of attacking football for Vincent Kompany's side, and the numbers bear it out. Bayern have scored 105 goals in just 29 Bundesliga games this season, with Harry Kane leading the way, ably supported by Olise and Luis Díaz.
At the Bernabéu, Bayern showed that Real didn't possess a defence that would be too difficult to break down, and they will fancy their chances at home as well. They will need to do that, because as much as this season has underlined Bayern's superiority in Germany once again, the shine will go off the entire season if they don't manage to make a deep run in European competition.
A night to save Real Madrid's season
Álvaro Arbeloa speaks about Real Madrid's Champions League quarterfinal second leg vs. Bayern Munich.
Real still have a faint hope of being in the shout for the La Liga title, but realistically, the Champions League seems to be their best chance of silverware this season. The club are in real danger of finishing the season with no silverware, and when that club is Real Madrid, that represents an unqualified failure. Arbeloa knows that, Real Madrid's players know that. It's why, in the last week, all the talk has centred around the comeback in Munich, and how Real are capable of doing so.
Of course, there's no club in Europe that one would fancy more than Real to pull off an unexpected comeback. In this case, it would be against the odds, as Bayern enter the second leg as firm, firm favourites.
What do the numbers say?
Real Madrid have won the last four two-legged ties in UEFA competition against Bayern Munich.
Bayern have lost seven of their last eight two-legged ties against Spanish opposition in UEFA competition.
Bayern have lost in four of their last five UEFA Champions League quarterfinal ties.
If Harry Kane scores in this second leg, it will be his 12th UCL goal of the season, and will be the best UCL season of his career, surpassing the 11 goals that he scored last season.
Kylian Mbappe currently tops the UCL goalscoring charts this season with 14 goals.