- Manchester City have won 15 of their last 16 matches 
- Real Madrid have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last four fixtures 
- Recommended bet: Manchester City to win

Real Madrid have already overcome two Premier League teams — Liverpool and Chelsea — in the Champions League knockout rounds but they face an altogether sterner challenge when taking on Manchester City in the semi-finals.

Los Blancos are the most successful team in European and Champions League history, lifting the trophy 14 times. 

The Spanish champions also won the Club World Cup in February and warmed up for the first leg against City with a 2-1 success over Osasuna in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday.

City are also in the hunt for multiple trophies having reached the FA Cup final and established a one-point lead over Arsenal in the Premier League title race.

They head to the Spanish capital with plenty of confidence after Ilkay Gundogan's double secured a vital 2-1 Premier League win at home to Leeds.

Team news

Real manager Carlo Ancelotti will have to make do without left back Ferland Mendy (calf) and centre-back Eder Militao, who serves a one-match ban.

Luka Modric recovered from a hamstring strain to appear as a late substitute in the Copa del Rey final and is likely to be more heavily involved against City.

Nathan Ake is a major concern for City after he appeared to suffer a muscle injury during Saturday's 2-1 success at home to Leeds.

Kevin De Bruyne shook off a minor injury to start at the weekend and is expected to keep his place, but Cole Palmer (ankle) is ruled out.

The stats

Manchester City have won 15 of their last 16 games, although the exception was their last Champions League match away to Bayern Munich when they were held to a 1-1 draw.

City have scored the opening goal in 20 consecutive matches since suffering a 1-0 loss away to Tottenham in early February.

Real are on a run of five successive Champions League wins, with four of those coming against English opposition.

However, they have had some defensive struggles in recent times and have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last four fixtures.

Prediction

Manchester City were impressive 4-1 aggregate winners over Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals and they can take another giant step towards Istanbul by defeating Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

Pep Guardiola was mildly irritated by the penalty fiasco at the weekend when Erling Haaland passed on spot-kick duties to Ilkay Gundogan and watched his team-mate fluff his lines from 12 yards.

But there was no harm done as City eased to a narrow success over relegation-threatened Leeds and the incident may even come in handy as a reminder for the players to remain focused and professional until the prizes are handed out.

City's focus has been spot on in the big games, allowing them to make light work of some very tough opposition.

Their April highlights included superb victories over Bayern (3-0) and Arsenal (4-1) and they should be too strong for Real, who are 14 points adrift of Barcelona in La Liga.

Real will be under huge pressure to make the most of their home leg, as they did when winning 2-0 against Chelsea a month ago.

But their recent performances and results have been sketchy, with losses in two of their last three league games, and they look in a vulnerable state against the Citizens, who are likely to rise to another big occasion.

Back Manchester City to win at 23/20 with LiveScore Bet.

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