Manchester City will travel to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night looking to reach the final of the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Their last-four clash with Real Madrid is evenly poised at 0-0 after the first leg at the Etihad, but the 10-time champions of Europe remain favourites to progress.
Real Madrid
© Getty ImagesWhen it comes to this stage of Europe's top-tier tournament, there is no club more experienced than Real Madrid.
Los Blancos are appearing in the last four for a record 27th time, and the difference between themselves and first-time semi-finalists Manchester City could not be any greater in that regard.
However, that didn't prove to be a factor in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium last week, with a Cristiano Ronaldo-less Madrid being held to a goalless draw by Manuel Pellegrini's men.
It took a couple of important stops from Joe Hart to keep the visitors at bay, but as it was Madrid could not find a breakthrough and, while their home advantage gives them the edge for this return leg, there is still work to be done if they are to reach a 14th European Cup/Champions League final.
The good news for Zinedine Zidane is that Ronaldo is back available for the game, with the all-time Champions League top scorer missing the first leg due to a hamstring injury.
He has been in scintillating form yet again this season, and is almost single-handedly responsible for Madrid avoiding a shock quarter-final exit at the hands of Wolfsburg, netting a second-leg hat-trick to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the last round.
He has either scored or assisted 20 of his side's 26 goals in the competition this season, but it isn't just in going forward that Madrid have been impressive in Europe, with nine clean sheets from their 11 outings and a joint tournament-low five goals conceded.
They are yet to concede a single goal in front of their own fans in this year's competition, winning all five of their outings at the Bernabeu and scoring 18 times in the process.
Indeed, looking even further back, Madrid have won 25 and lost just one of their last 29 home games in Europe, while they have only ever lost twice against English opposition at the Bernabeu, winning seven and drawing three.
They have also progressed from all but one of the 23 European games in which they have drawn the away first leg, with that exception coming back in 1990-91 at the hands of Spartak Moscow. That exit did follow a goalless first-leg draw, but they have progressed from the other eight ties in which they have been held to a stalemate away from home.
A 1-0 win over Real Sociedad kept Los Blancos just one point off Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the thrilling La Liga title race at the weekend, and after three consecutive away games they will be happy to return home, where they have won 20 of their 23 outings in all competitions this season, including an ongoing six-match run that has seen them score 23 times and concede just once.
The prospect of another Champions League final meeting with city rivals Atletico will also be an enticing one for Real should Diego Simeone's side get past Bayern Munich in Tuesday's semi-final, with Zidane looking to cap off his first season in management with the club's 11th European crown.
Recent form: WWWLWD
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWDW
Man City
© Getty ImagesWhile Manchester City are in uncharted territory as a club, they do have experience which could prove vital on Wednesday night in the form of Pellegrini.
The Chilean manager has not only graced this stage of the competition before, reaching the semi-finals with Villarreal in 2006, but he also spent a season in charge at the Bernabeu.
Pellegrini steered Los Blancos to a then club-record number of La Liga points, but even that wasn't enough to save his job and he may feel similarly hard done by when it comes to his impending Man City exit.
Wednesday night is arguably the biggest game in the club's history, and should they manage to reach the final too then Pellegrini will cement his place in City folklore ahead of his departure to make room for Pep Guardiola.
The closing weeks of the campaign could go very well for the club, then, but they could also go very badly and Pellegrini has taken a risk in that regard.
There were a string of changes made to the City team for the weekend match against Southampton, and sure enough the Saints ran out 4-2 winners thanks largely to a hat-trick from Sadio Mane, ending the Citizens' eight-match unbeaten streak.
City's local rivals Manchester United could not fully capitalise, only managing a draw against newly-crowned Premier League champions Leicester City, but those results saw the gap between fourth and fifth close to four points, with United also boasting a game in hand.
Pellegrini insisted that he had no regrets about prioritising the Champions League, but with a home fixture against Arsenal coming up on Sunday, it is a gamble that could backfire spectacularly should City crash out of Europe in midweek and then drop further points against the Gunners.
City are, however, unbeaten in their last six Champions League matches - their longest ever run in the competition - and have already won in Spain once this season, beating Sevilla 3-1 in the group stages.
Indeed, the Citizens have only lost one of their five away games in Europe this term, although in all competitions they have only managed to win two of their last seven outings on the road.
They have also lost on all five of the previous occasions where they have drawn the home first leg of a European tie, including one where that first leg ended goalless, going down at the hands of Fenerbahce in the 1968 European Cup.
Recent form: WWDDWD
Recent form (all competitions): WWDWDL
Team News
© Getty ImagesAs already mentioned, Ronaldo has been declared fit for Wednesday's match, with the striker needing just one more goal to equal his own all-time record of 17 in a single Champions League season.
Gareth Bale, who scored the winner at the weekend, will also start, but there is a doubt over Karim Benzema after he limped off in the first leg.
The Frenchman has failed to find the back of the net in his last four Champions League games, but has scored in two of his three matches against City.
Elsewhere, Casemiro is another doubt for the home side having missed training, while the likes of Pepe, Marcelo and Dani Carvajal are expected to be recalled having sat out at the weekend.
Keylor Navas in goal has kept 10 clean sheets in his 11 previous Champions League appearances and has saved 30 of the 32 shots on target that he has faced in the competition.
Sergio Aguero has failed to have a shot on target in this competition for 432 minutes and is now four games without a Champions League goal - his longest drought in Europe since October 2012.
The Argentine was rested at the weekend, but is one of a number of players who will return in midweek, along with the likes of Vincent Kompany and Kevin De Bruyne.
Yaya Toure has travelled with the squad having missed the last two games with a thigh injury, but Pellegrini will be without David Silva after he was forced off with a hamstring injury in the first leg.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Navas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo
Man City possible starting lineup:
Hart; Sagna, Kompany, Otamendi, Clichy; Fernando, Fernandinho, Navas, Toure, De Bruyne; Aguero
Head To Head
Prior to last week's first leg, these two sides had only previously met in the 2012-13 Champions League group stage, when Madrid came from behind twice to win 3-2 in Spain before picking up a 1-1 draw in Manchester.
Madrid are unbeaten in their last nine games against Premier League opposition, including four in a row at home, and have won seven of their 11 two-legged ties against English sides.
City, meanwhile, have only won one of their four two-legged ties against Spanish opposition, while in Spain they have won just two and lost five of their eight matches.
We say: Real Madrid 2-0 Manchester City
Manchester City are still very much in this tie, but their failure to get a goal at the Etihad is likely to come back to haunt them. Madrid almost always score at home and, while City have the ability to get a crucial away goal, the hosts' defensive record at the Bernabeu cannot be ignored. We're expecting Real Madrid to make it through to the final.
