European glory in 2021-22 will almost be within reach for those that make it through to the last four, with tickets to a Paris showpiece up for grabs
The Champions League returns with the semi-final first legs as Man City host Real Madrid and Villarreal visit Anfield.
Here are the details of the semi-final fixtures:
###First Leg Matches
Tuesday, 26th April 2022
8:00pm Manchester City v Real Madrid
Wednesday, 27th April 2022
8:00pm Liverpool v Villarreal
Second Leg Matches
Tuesday, 3rd May 2022
8:00pm Villarreal v Liverpool
Wednesday, 4th May 2022
8:00pm Real Madrid v Manchester City
In this thread, we shall be covering all the Seminal fixtures of the Champions League. Join the discussion and share your views on the various matches.
Manchester City made it this far in the competition after topping a tricky Group A that included PSG, RB Leipzig and Club Brugge with four wins and two losses. Pep Guardiola’s side eased past Sporting CP in the Round of 16 before being pushed to the brink by Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals as they prevailed by a 1-0 aggregate scoreline.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, won Group D ahead of Inter Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk and Sheriff Tiraspol. Carlo Ancelotti’s men then made a stunning comeback to beat PSG in the Round of 16 before playing another thrilling tie with Chelsea in the quarter-finals, managing to eke into the final four with an aggregate win.
Both Manchester City and Real Madrid have won their last two games after losing their previous one. It will be an exciting encounter between two teams managed by two of the most successful managers in the game. And The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at how the Premier League and La Liga leaders will set up at the Etihad on Tuesday night.
Joao Cancelo’s suspension for the first leg makes a defensive crisis worse for Pep Guardiola. Kyle Walker missed the win over Watford with an ankle injury, alongside John Stones.
Guardiola has confirmed both are doubts for tonight: “They didn’t train last week, ten days, John since Brighton. We will see how they feel, and make a decision tomorrow.”
Joao Cancelo’s suspension for the first leg makes a defensive crisis worse for Pep Guardiola. Kyle Walker missed the win over Watford with an ankle injury, alongside John Stones.
Guardiola has confirmed both are doubts for tonight: “They didn’t train last week, ten days, John since Brighton. We will see how they feel, and make a decision tomorrow.”
This will be the seventh meeting between Manchester City and Real Madrid in European competitions. Each of the previous six have come in the UEFA Champions League since 2012/13. Both teams have won two games each out of the six (D2), with the Cityzens triumphing in the latest two matches in 2019/20.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has eliminated Real Madrid from the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League on two previous occasions – once in the 2010/11 semi-finals with Barcelona and again in the 2019/20 Round of 16 with Manchester City.
Carlo Ancelotti has won 74% of his games in charge of Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League (26/35), the best win percentage for any manager with at least 20 games for a single club in the competition.
Raheem Sterling has netted 24 goals for Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League. If he scores again, he would overtake Paul Scholes (24) and trail only Wayne Rooney (30) for the most goals scored by an English player for an English team in the history of the competition.
