Real Madrid to host Manchester City in Champions League semifinal clash

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) - Real Madrid will host Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League semifinal first leg game at Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.

Both sides faced each other in last year's Champions League semifinal and Real Madrid had triumphed with a 5–6 aggregate.

Despite struggling to succeed in the Spanish La Liga this season, Real Madrid have seemed in decent shape recently as they bagged Copa del Rey on Saturday by beating Osasuna 2-1.

Los Merengues' veteran manager Carlo Ancelotti sounded cautious against their strong opponents and said: "Man City may seem unstoppable, but we will have our chances and we can compete. We are not thinking about stopping just one player - they are a team. We want a positive result. We don't want to suffer, we want to play well. The objective is to avoid problems. It will be a demanding match."

Real Madrid's Eder Militao will be suspended from playing against Manchester City in the upcoming clash.

In-form Citizens will take on the reigning champions Los Merengues to reach the finals for the second time in the English club's history.

Manchester club's biggest weapon in their arsenal will be the Norwegian star forward Erling Haaland, who have tallied 12 goals in eight Champions League games this season.

The Citizens' head coach Pep Guardiola, who clinched the top-tier European football trophy twice with Barcelona, said: "We arrive here with encouragement. The way we are playing is really good. We are not here for revenge, just another opportunity. One day we will win it. We come here this season to do it. It didn't happen last year because we played Real in this competition."

In a Champions League Milan derby, AC Milan will face Inter Milan in the first leg of the other semifinal clash of the competition at San Siro on Wednesday.

Real Madrid is the most successful club of the UEFA Champions League, which has been held since 1955, with 14 trophies.​​​​​​​