Champions League: All to play for between Manchester City, Real Madrid in semi-final second leg

Real Madrid stand between Manchester City and European glory once again. It was the case last year as well and miraculously Madrid came out victorious then. This time around, based on the first leg, it can be argued that it is advantage City. The Premier League champions controlled plenty of the ball and will hold home advantage for the second leg with the tie evenly poised at 1-1 . The difference between last year and now is in the venue for the second leg. Last season, Real Madrid staged a ‘remontada’ to win 6-5 on aggregate. Now, the second leg is at the Etihad Stadium where Man City are on a 14-match unbeaten run with a combined scoreline of 49-7. In Europe, City have not lost at home for five years, winning 23 and drawing just two of their 25 Champions League games since. “It’s 1-1 and we are at the Etihad where we’ve been more than confident in the Champions League to get a result," said City defender Kyle Walker. “Hopefully we do that again.” Worth pointing out that Madrid have only twice progressed when they’ve failed to win the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie at home. Man City are on the gunning for a historic treble with Premier League title in the offing, an FA Cup final to come and Champions League glory looking possible. They’re four wins away from matching Manchester United’s class of 1998/99 as the only side to win the league, Champions League and FA Cup in the same season. For Real Madrid, the league was done long back - with Barcelona sealing the title on the weekend - and they’ve shifted focus to Europe once again. The defending champions have already eliminated two Premier League sides, Liverpool and Chelsea, en route to the last-four. For many in the Real Madrid squad, Champions League feels comforting and familiar. “We always feel comfortable in these type of games,” said midfielder Luka Modric. “We know that in the Champions League we always perform well because it is a competition that we love. We feel at home playing these games. “It is for that reason we have won so many Champions Leagues because we have the belief in ourselves and we believe in our quality.” But City are a different beast and the visitors will do well to keep 52-goal striker Erling Haaland as quiet as the Norwegian was in the first leg with Antonio Rudiger doing a splendid job. Eder Militao has returned for the second leg which poses a conundrum for manager Carlo Ancelotti. The winner of the tie will go on to face Inter Milan in Instanbul on 10 June. Inter overcame local rivals AC Milan 3-0 on aggregate to make their first final in 13 years. Manchester City vs Real Madrid at a quick glance When: Thursday 18 May (00:30 AM IST kick-off) Where: City of Manchester/Etihad Stadium, Manchester What: Champions League semi-final second leg How it stands: First leg 1-1 How to watch: SonyLiv (live streaming) and Sony Sports Network (TV) Form guide (all competitions) Man City: W D W W W W Real Madrid: W D W L W L Predicted playing XI Manchester City XI: Ederson; Walker, Rúben Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Gündoğan, Grealish; Haaland Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Militão, Rüdiger, Alaba; Modrić, Kroos, Camavinga; Valverde, Benzema, Vinícius Júnior Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News ,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.