Real Madrid will take a 2-1 lead into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final at home to Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.
Arturo Vidal sent Bayern ahead in the first leg at the Allianz last week, but a second-half double from Cristiano Ronaldo saw the Spanish giants secure a narrow advantage ahead of the clash at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid
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Attempting to become the first team in the modern era to successfully defend the Champions League, Real Madrid are well-placed to book their spot in the semi-finals of the competition after a 2-1 victory at the Allianz last week.
Vidal sent a dominant Bayern ahead on the night, but the Chilean missed a penalty on the stroke of the interval, before a second-half brace from Ronaldo saw the reigning champions pick up a strong result.
Los Blancos, who are still unbeaten in this season's competition, are bidding to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the seventh year in a row. They landed their 11th European Cup after beating Atletico Madrid in last year's final, and they are once again seen as the team to beat this time around.
Real Madrid have actually only lost six of their previous 34 quarter-final ties in the European Cup, while they have only lost one of the 31 UEFA competition ties where they won the first leg away from home. Furthermore, the Spanish giants have won their last five two-legged European ties against Bundesliga opposition – scoring 25 times in the process.
Zinedine Zidane's side will enter this match off the back of a 3-2 win over Sporting Gijon at the weekend, with that result seeing them stretch their lead at the top of La Liga to six points.
Barcelona have since moved to within three ahead of El Clasico next weekend, but the Madrid giants are the favourites to land their first La Liga title since 2012.
League success and a 12th European Cup would have to go down as a wonderful campaign for Zidane, who has been a revelation since replacing Rafael Benitez in the dugout last January.
Recent form: DWDWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWDWW
Bayern Munich
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Bayern have reached at least the semi-finals of the Champions League in each of the five previous seasons, but that record is under severe threat as they travel to the Bernabeu for the second leg of their quarter-final tie on Tuesday night.
The German champions were the dominant team in the opening 45 minutes of the first leg, but Vidal missed the chance to make it 2-0 from the penalty spot on the stroke of the interval, and they had Javi Martinez sent off in what was a very disappointing second period at the Allianz.
Bayern have not actually lost in the quarter-finals of the Champions League since the 2008-09 campaign, when they suffered a 5-1 aggregate defeat to Barcelona.
Worryingly, however, the German outfit have lost on 14 of their previous 25 visits to Spanish clubs in European competition. Meanwhile, they have already lost in Madrid this season – suffering a 1-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid in the group stage.
Carlo Ancelotti's side have also only actually won one of their last four games in all competitions. They were held to a goalless draw at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Saturday afternoon, but still sit eight points clear of second-place RB Leipzig at the top of the Bundesliga table.
Bayern landed their fifth European Cup when they overcame Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund in the final of the 2013 competition, but they have fallen short of the mark in recent campaigns.
Indeed, their interest in last season's competition was ended by Atletico in the semi-finals, and the German giants face a tough task to avoid elimination against another giant from Madrid in the quarter-finals of this season's tournament.
Recent form: WLWWWL
Recent form (all competitions): WWLWLD
Team News
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Real Madrid boss Zidane made nine changes to his team for Saturday's La Liga clash with Sporting Gijon, but all of the big guns are expected to return.
Injuries to Raphael Varane and Pepe mean that Nacho and Sergio Ramos will continue at centre-back, but Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos will all return to the home side's XI.
Dani Carvajal will also be available following a domestic suspension, while Marcelo, who came off the bench at the weekend, will return at left-back in place of Fabio Coentrao.
There is a concern over the availability of Gareth Bale, however, with the Welshman struggling to overcome a calf problem. If the former Tottenham Hotspur attacker misses out, Isco should keep his spot in the XI.
As for Bayern, leading scorer Robert Lewandowski has missed the club's last two games – including the first leg – with a shoulder problem, but the Pole is expected to be rushed back for this fixture.
Javi Martinez is suspended following his red card in the first leg, but head coach Ancelotti is hopeful that Mats Hummels will overcome the ankle problem that has kept him on the sidelines since April 9.
Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman are both pushing for spots in wide positions, although Ancelotti is expected to start Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery once again as the Bundesliga giants look to turn the tie around.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Navas; Carvajal, Ramos, Nacho, Marcelo; Casemiro, Modric, Kroos; Isco, Benzema, Ronaldo
Bayern possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Lahm, Hummels, Boateng, Alaba; Alonso, Thiago; Ribery, Vidal, Robben; Lewandowski
Head To Head
Tuesday will bring the 24th meeting between Real Madrid and Bayern in European competition. Bayern actually lead the head-to-head record 11 wins to Real Madrid's 10, while the remaining two fixtures finished level.
Real Madrid recorded a 5-0 aggregate win when they met in the semi-finals of the 2013-14 competition, but Bayern progressed on penalties when they clashed at the same stage of the 2011-12 season.
The fixture has favoured the home side, meanwhile, with Real Madrid winning eight of their 11 European games at home to Bayern.
As mentioned, Vidal sent the German outfit into a 1-0 lead at the Allianz last week, but a double from Ronaldo ensured that Real Madrid would take a 2-1 advantage into Tuesday's affair in the Spanish capital.
We say: Real Madrid 1-1 Bayern Munich
The tie is still open despite Real Madrid's victory last week, although it is going to be very difficult for Bayern to beat the Spanish giants at the Bernabeu. We are expecting a tight affair, but believe that Real Madrid will have enough to edge out a 3-2 aggregate success as they march towards another European final.
Matt Law
