Gareth Bale of Real Madrid CF hurdles the challenge from Jesus Navas of Manchester City during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final first leg match between Manchester City FC and Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on April 26, 2016 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
Gareth Bale of Real Madrid CF hurdles the challenge from Jesus Navas of Manchester City during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final first leg match between Manchester City FC and Real Madrid at the EtShow more

Champions League: Real Madrid v Manchester City second-leg preview



All the key news and statistics ahead of the Champions League semi-final second-leg between Real Madrid and Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday:

First leg result

Tuesday, April 26 in Manchester

Manchester City 0 Real Madrid 0

Key battle

• Lucas Vazquez v Gael Clichy: With Karim Benzema likely to miss out for Madrid, Vazquez has a strong case to start alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale up front. The Spanish winger was elevated to the first team earlier this season by Rafa Benitez and has impressed with his silky dribbles. Clichy will be on the back foot for most of the game and will have to concentrate to keep his rival quiet. Vazquez has quite an explosive burst of pace, which allows him to gain separation from his marker. His battle with Clichy, City's paciest fullback, will be enthralling.

Form

• Real Madrid: Injured Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo watched from the stands last Tuesday but the three-time World Player of the Year and the Portuguese returned to training on Sunday. He has been in blistering form in the Champions League this season, scoring 16 goals in 10 appearances. Karim Benzema came off injured at half time in the first leg and is a mild doubt. Gareth Bale was also ineffective in the first leg but his thunderous header kept an under-strength Real in the chase for the La Liga title with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Real Sociedad on Saturday, their 10th league win in a row.

• Man City: Manchester City go to Madrid knowing a score draw is enough for them to qualify for a first ever Champions League final after the 0-0 draw in Manchester last week where Joe Hart kept City's hopes alive with two key saves. But City go into the game on the back of a painful 4-2 league defeat at Southampton on Sunday where manager Manuel Pellegrini made eight changes. Only Hart, Nicolas Otamendi and Fernandinho started against Madrid and Southampton, and while Yaya Toure is expected to be fit, David Silva will miss the return leg. On a positive note striker Kelechi Iheanacho scored twice in the weekend defeat while Hart picked the ball out of his net four times mainly because he was at the mercy of his own leaky defence.

Leading scorers in all competitions:

Manchester City: Sergio Aguero (28 goals)

Real Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo (47 goals)

Road to quarter-finals:

Manchester City

• Winners of Group D ahead of Juventus

• Beat Dynamo Kiev 3-1 on aggregate in last 16

• Beat Paris Saint Germain 3-2 in the quarter-finals

Real Madrid

• Winners of Group A ahead of Paris Saint-Germain

• Beat Roma 4-0 on aggregate in last 16

• Beat Wolfsburg 3-2 on aggregate

European Cup/Champions League best performances:

Manchester City: Quarter-finals 2016

Real Madrid: 10-time winners 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014

Previous meetings before this season:

• Champions League Group phase 18/09/2012 Real Madrid 3 Man City 2

• Champions League Group phase 21/09/2012 Man City 1 Real Madrid 1

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