After a breathtaking season across the continent, the Uefa Champions League is beginning to reach boiling point as the four remaining sides have just one more night under the lights to secure their place in this year’s final in Istanbul.
As we head into this week’s semi-final second legs, Manchester City’s contest with Real Madrid remains balanced on a knife’s edge while Inter Milan hold a solid albeit precarious 2-0 lead over bitter rivals AC Milan.
There’s bound to be more twists, turns and spine-tingling drama over the next couple of days as European’s football’s premiere competition begins to come to a close. Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s ties.
Inter Milan vs AC Milan (Agg 2-0)
When: Tuesday, 16 May
Where: San Siro
Kick-off: 8pm
TV: BT Sport 1
Betfred match odds: Inter 21/20, AC 12/5, Draw 13/5
Sportsman stat: Inter have won the last three meetings between these sides, scoring six and conceding none.
Two quick-fire goals in the eighth and 11th minutes at San Siro in the first leg was enough to see Inter put one foot through the door towards a first Champions League final since 2010, which they won.
However, AC Milan certainly showed signs of life against their arch-rivals despite an early two goal deficit and were probably the better team across the 90 minutes. They did everything but score. If they can start with that same momentum on Tuesday and score early, we could be in for a monumental showdown between these Italian giants.
Manchester City vs Real Madrid (Agg 1-1)
When: Wednesday, 17 May
Where: Etihad Stadium
Kick-off: 8pm
TV: BT Sport 1
Betfred match odds: Man City 4/7, Real Madrid 9/2, Draw 16/5
Sportsman stat: Both teams have scored in each of the last six contests between Man City and Real Madrid, with five of those matches seeing at least over 2.5 goals.
Kevin de Bruyne’s second-half equaliser at the Bernabeu last week will have given Pep Guardiola’s men a major boost heading into the second leg, as Man City chase an elusive treble. With the aggregate score at 1-1, there’s still plenty of work to do for the Cityzens and given they saw their Champion League hopes extinguished by Real at this stage last season, courtesy of three stoppage time goals, they should be more wary of letting complacency set in.
Miles behind La Liga leaders Barcelona domestically, this perhaps isn’t the same calibre of Los Blancos that City faced last year, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous. With a league title out of the window this season, Carlo Ancelotti’s side will be putting all their focus on clinching a 15th European Cup triumph.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
