After a 1-1 away draw at the Bernabeu Stadium, Guardiola’s men are the favourites to progress to the Champions League final as they play the second leg at the Etihad, a venue where they have won all 15 games this year and demolished Bayern Munich 3-0 in the quarter finals.

There are talks of a potential treble being completed by City this season but Guardiola will know they are up against the Champions of Europe who can not be taken lightly as it was the same opponents last season who knocked them out of the semi-finals of this competition.

The hosts are on an incredible run of 22 games unbeaten in all competitions which has seen them go four points clear at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand over Arsenal, whose title hopes were ended by Brighton at the weekend.

As for the current European Champions, they come into this game in mixed form, having won three, drawn one and lost two of their last six games in all competitions. However, they did win the Copa del Rey during this run and will still be optimistic of a positive result at the Etihad despite knowing it will be an uphill task.

They ran out 2-0 winners in their last visit to England in this competition against Chelsea but this will be a tougher challenge against perhaps the most in-form team in Europe at the moment.

Man City is in red-hot form right now. Last weekend’s 3-0 win at Everton extended their unbeaten run to 22 matches. They have won 11 on the bounce in the Premier League to take control of the title race.

In contrast, Real Madrid have been in patchy form. However, since losing 2-0 to Real Sociedad, Los Merengues have won two and drawn one of three. 

Real Madrid is the record winner of this competition, and Los Blancos are bidding to reach yet another Champions League final. However, they have a lot of work to do in England.

Real has lost the La Liga title to rivals Barcelona, but winning the Champions League would repair the damage. Ancelotti’s boys are the holders having seen off Liverpool in last year’s final.

Manchester  City has been the Champions League favorite from the very first whistle this season. The Manchester giants have had plenty of success domestically but have yet to lift the Champions League trophy.

Guardiola’s superstars are in stunning form at present. They are unbeaten in 22 league and cup fixtures, winning 18 and drawing four. City took a big leap towards the Premier League title last week with a 3-0 at Everton, while Arsenal lost at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Αncelotti

"We are very happy to be here, although this is almost normal for a club like Real, having reached 11 semi-finals in the last 13 years. It is not easy and we should enjoy it.

We are close to doing something important, like last year, and we are very motivated. The second leg will be different compared to the first game and we want to improve some things. City have the best team in Europe at the moment and it will be an exciting match," said the experienced Italian coach about the second match with the "citizens" and the opportunity his team has to reach the final on June 10 in Istanbul... " emphasized the Italian coach of the title holder, Carlo Ancelotti.

As for dealing with Haaland pointed out? "We're not only thinking about Haaland, there's also De Bruyne, Gydogan, Mahrez. What is certain is that if they score a goal, they better do it early. That way we will have more time to react. We know that City are likely to score in the opening minutes. We all know what happened last year. What is certain is that we will see an exciting game..."

Experienced Croatian midfielder Luka Modric said: “We knew this match was not going to be decided in the first leg. We didn't start well, but then we had our moment. We are in good shape and I think we are 50-50. It will be decided by small details, because we are two big teams with top players."