Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid preview: Team news and predicted lineups
Having secured their place in the Champions League semifinals with a hard-fought 3-2 aggregate victory over Arsenal, Bayern Munich will continue their quest to salvage an underwhelming season when they host La Liga giants Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night.
After being knocked out of the DFB-Pokal and losing the Bundesliga title race to Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern's only chance of silverware remains in the Champions League, where they will now face the 2021/22 winners.
Real Madrid are cruising towards the La Liga title and sit 13 points clear of Girona at the top of the table after beating Real Sociedad 1-0 at the weekend.
It's safe to say that Carlo Ancelotti's side are hard to beat, with their last defeat coming after extra time in the Copa del Rey, a 4-2 loss to Atletico Madrid back in January.
In the Champions League, the Spanish giants faced a stiff challenge from defending champions Manchester City in the quarter-finals, which they eventually won on penalties.
That all goes to show how tough a task awaits Bayern, but the Bavarians can take heart from the fact that they're in the best form they've been in for a long time, having won four games in a row following their 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel left Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sané, Jamal Musiala and Dayot Upamecano out of his squad for that game, hoping to have them fit for Tuesday's crunch clash.
Unfortunately for Tuchel and Bayern, both Matthijs de Ligt and Konrad Laimer were forced off during the game, causing fresh injury concerns.
Providing an injury update at his pre-match press conference on Monday, Tuchel said there are question marks over Laimer, de Ligt, Upamecano, Musiala and Sané.
"Konny, Matthijs and Upa are being assessed at the moment. Konny looks the best in terms of training. We also have to see with Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane," Tuchel said.
“We'll see how training goes today. Konny will try it. For Matthijs and Upa, maybe it's a bit early. There will be some last-minute decisions.”
If de Ligt is not fit enough to start, Kim Minjae is likely to come in to play alongside Eric Dier at the heart of defense. Aleksandar Pavlovic is ready to deputise for Konrad Laimer if needed, while Serge Gnabry and Thomas Müller could start in attack if Musiala and/or Sané can't play.
As for Real Madrid, Dani Carvajal is suspended, while Thibau Courtois and David Alaba will miss out due to injury. Jude Bellingham should recover from illness in time for the game, as should Ferland Mendy and Rodrygo.
