Man City vs Real Madrid Champions League semi-final preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, starting line-ups

Man City and Real Madrid meet in the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg on Wednesday 17 May.

Where to watch Man City vs Real Madrid on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.

What do you need to know?

Advantage City. Maybe. The first leg was more edge-of-the-seat thriller than the all-out-action of last season's semi-final, when Madrid staged a remarkable second-leg comeback at the Santiago Bernabéu to beat Pep Guardiola's men 6-5 on aggregate. Crucially, perhaps, this time the second leg takes place at the City of Manchester Stadium, where the home side are on a 14-match unbeaten run with a combined score of 49-7.

By contrast, Madrid have only twice progressed on the nine previous occasions they failed to win the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie at home. Ominously for City, both were in Manchester, against United in 2000 and 2013. Karim Benzema was an unused substitute in 2013, and while he and Erling Haaland were uncharacteristically subdued in Madrid, the attacking talent in both sides could be unleashed this time.

Starting line-ups

Man City: Ederson; Walker, Rúben Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Gündoğan, Grealish; Haaland

Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Militão, Alaba, Camavinga; Valverde, Modrić, Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinícius Júnior

Form guide

Man City
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WDWWWW
Where they stand: 1st in Premier League, FA Cup final

Real Madrid
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WDWLWL
Where they stand: 2nd in Liga, Copa del Rey winners

Expert predictions

Matthew Howarth, Man City reporter
Wednesday’s game may well follow a similar pattern to last week's meeting in Madrid, where City dominated the first half before Madrid emerged from their shells in the second. Don't be surprised if Guardiola's team charge out of the blocks again in Manchester, but the home supporters are in for another nervy evening. The final is within tantalising distance for the Premier League champions, but the time for talking is over: they need to deliver on the pitch.

Graham Hunter, Real Madrid reporter
Madrid approach this second leg happy to have team selection options. In terms of the result they have but one option - win. Normal time, added time or extra time like their stunning wins over Chelsea and City themselves last season - even penalties. The task is simple to explain but complicated to achieve. Therefore the facts that Éder Militão is no longer suspended, and Ferland Mendy no longer injured, are very welcome options for Carlo Ancelotti - both in personnel and tactical terms. Tension, thrills and elite football are guaranteed. This could be a classic.

What the coaches say

Pep Guardiola, Man City manager: "This is one of the most important games since I've been here, we cannot deny that. I've told the players to enjoy it. We're incredibly lucky to be here. It's in our hands, and we just need to win one game to reach the final."

Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach: "There are some things we can do better than the first leg. We are extremely motivated, we know that it will be difficult but hopefully this will help us to be at our best. We are close to achieving something very important, just like last season."

Where is the 2023 Champions League final?

UEFA via Getty Images

Istanbul's Atatürk Olympic Stadium will host the final on Saturday 10 June 2023. Real Madrid or Man City will be the designated home team against AC Milan or Inter.

The winners gain a place in the 2023/24 Champions League group stage, if they have not qualified via their domestic competition.