Madrid welcome City with final on the line

Real Madrid CF are looking to make their wealth of European Cup semi-final experience tell as they welcome Manchester City FC to the Santiago Bernabéu for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last-four tie.

• There was nothing between the sides in the first leg at the City of Manchester Stadium on 26 April, the game ending goalless.

• While this is a first semi-final in the competition for City, Madrid are in the last four for a record 27th time – they have won 13 and lost 13 of their previous semi-finals.

• Indeed, this is only City's third European semi-final across UEFA's club competitions, and a first since 1971; they beat FC Schalke 04 5-2 on aggregate in the 1969/70 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals, and lost to Chelsea FC 2-0 over two legs at the same stage of the same competition the following season.

• Madrid, meanwhile, are in their 32nd European semi-final; their record is W17 L14. Although they are in a sixth successive UEFA Champions League semi-final, they have won only once in that sequence – against FC Bayern München in 2013/14, when they went on to win a tenth title.

Previous meetings
• The sides' only other competitive fixtures came in the 2012/13 group stage, when Madrid twice came from behind to win 3-2 in Spain on matchday one. City led twice through Edin Džeko (68) and Aleksandar Kolarov (85) but Madrid responded through Marcelo (76) and Karim Benzema (87) before Cristiano Ronaldo snatched a 90th-minute victory.

• The teams at the Santiago Bernabéu on 18 September 2012 were:
Real Madrid: Casillas, Arbeloa, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo, Khedira (Modrić 73), Xabi Alonso, Di María, Essien (Özil 65), Ronaldo, Higuaín (Benzema 73).
Manchester City: Hart, Maicon (Zabaleta 74), Kompany, Nastasić, Clichy, Javi García, Y Touré, Barry, Silva (Džeko 63), Nasri (Kolarov 37), Tévez.

• It was 1-1 in Manchester, Sergio Agüero's penalty cancelling out Benzema's tenth-minute strike. Madrid ended with ten men as Álvaro Arbeloa collected a second yellow card in fouling Agüero to concede that spot kick.

• The sides at the City of Manchester Stadium on 21 November 2012 were:
Manchester City: Hart, Maicon, Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasić, Kolarov (Javi García 46), Nasri (Tévez 60), Y Touré, Silva, Agüero (Milner 88), Džeko.
Real Madrid: Casillas, Arbeloa, Ramos, Pepe, Coentrão, Khedira, Xabi Alonso, Di María (Albiol 87), Modrić (Callejón 68), Ronaldo, Benzema (Varane 75).

• Those four points helped José Mourinho's Madrid finish second in Group D, behind Borussia Dortmund; City, then managed by Roberto Mancini, ended bottom with three points having not won a game.

Match background

Real Madrid
• While Madrid are in the last four for the sixth year running, they have lost five of their last six UEFA Champions League semi-finals. Of those ties, they recorded four wins and a draw at home, losing only against Barcelona in the 2010/11 first leg.

• Madrid have won all five home games in this season's competition, including a 3-0 victory against VfL Wolfsburg in the quarter-final second leg to overturn a 2-0 away defeat, and an overwhelming 8-0 defeat of Malmö FF in December – the joint-biggest victory in 24 years of the UEFA Champions League. Overall at home they have scored 18 goals and conceded none.

• Since that 2011 defeat by Barcelona, Madrid have lost only one of their 29 home games in the UEFA Champions League – 4-3 to FC Schalke 04 in last season's round of 16 second leg, still winning 5-4 on aggregate – recording 25 victories.

• The Merengues are unbeaten in their last nine games against English clubs (W6 D3) since a 4-0 defeat at Liverpool in the 2008/09 round of 16 second leg – their heaviest UEFA Champions League loss.

• Madrid's record in two-legged ties against English opponents is W7 L4.

• The ten-time winners are unbeaten in their last four home games against Premier League visitors, although the two matches before that both ended in 1-0 home defeats, against Arsenal FC in 2005/06 and Liverpool in 2008/09. That Arsenal reverse ended an eight-match undefeated record at home to English sides.

• The Spanish side's record at home to English clubs is W7 D5 L2; overall it is W13 D10 L10.

• Madrid's overall European Cup semi-final record is W13 L13:
2-3 v Juventus, 2014/15 (1-2 a, 1-1 h)
5-0 v FC Bayern München, 2013/14 (1-0 h, 4-0 a)
3-4 v Borussia Dortmund, 2012/13 (1-4 a, 2-0 h)
3-3 v FC Bayern München, 1-3 on penalties, 2011/12 (1-2 a, 2-1 h)
1-3 v FC Barcelona, 2010/11 (0-2 h, 1-1 a)
3-4 v Juventus, 2002/03 (2-1 h, 1-3 a)
3-1 v FC Barcelona, 2001/02 (2-0 a, 1-1 h)
1-3 v FC Bayern München, 2000/01 (0-1 h, 1-2 a)
3-2 v FC Bayern München, 1999/2000 (2-0 h, 1-2 a)
2-0 v Borussia Dortmund, 1997/98 (2-0 h, 0-0 a)
1-6 v AC Milan, 1988/89 (1-1 h, 0-5 a)
1-1 v PSV Eindhoven, lost on away goals, 1987/88 (1-1 h, 0-0 a)
2-4 v FC Bayern München, 1986/87 (1-4 a, 1-0 h)
2-1 v FC Internazionale Milano, 1980/81 (2-0 h, 0-1 a)
3-5 v Hamburger SV, 1979/80 (2-0 h, 1-5 a)
1-3 v FC Bayern München, 1975/76 (1-1 h, 0-2 a)
1-3 v AFC Ajax, 1972/73 (1-2 a, 0-1 h)
3-4 v Manchester United FC, 1967/68 (0-1 a, 3-3 h)
2-1 v FC Internazionale Milano, 1965/66 (1-0 h, 1-1 a)
8-1 v FC Zürich, 1963/64 (2-1 a, 6-0 h)
6-0 v R. Standard de Liège, 1961/62 (4-0 h, 2-0 a)
6-2 v FC Barcelona, 1959/60 (3-1 h, 3-1 a)
2-1 (replay) v Club Atlético de Madrid, 1958/59 (2-1 h, 0-1 a, 2-1 replay)
4-2 v Vasas SC, 1957/58 (4-0 h, 0-2 a)
5-3 v Manchester United FC, 1956/57 (3-1 h, 2-2 a)
5-4 v AC Milan, 1955/56 (4-2 h, 1-2 a)

• Madrid have won all but one of the 23 previous UEFA competition ties in which they earned a first-leg away draw; the sole blemish followed a goalless draw with FC Spartak Moskva in the 1990/91 European Champion Clubs' Cup quarter-finals, when they crashed 3-1 at home. The other eight UEFA ties where Madrid secured a 0-0 first-leg away draw produced an aggregate triumph for the Merengues, including against Atlético in last season's quarter-finals (1-0 home).

• Madrid's shoot-out record in European competition is W1 L2:
5-6 v FK Crvena zvezda, 1974/75 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals
3-1 v Juventus, 1986/87 European Cup second round
1-3 v FC Bayern München, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League semi-finals

Manchester City
• This is City's first European Cup semi-final. Their last two UEFA Champions League campaigns both ended in round of 16 defeat by Barcelona, in 2013/14 and 2014/15.

• The 3-1 aggregate win against Dynamo Kyiv in this season's round of 16 – 3-1 away, 0-0 home – was City's first European Cup knockout win. Aside from those Barcelona defeats, their only previous tie was a 2-1 aggregate loss by Fenerbahçe SK in the 1968/69 first round.

• City have won three of their five away games in this season's competition, although they went down 1-0 at Juventus on matchday five.

• The Manchester club have already met Spanish opposition in this season's competition, beating Sevilla FC 2-1 at home and 3-1 away in the group stage.

• City's away record against Spanish sides is W2 D1 L5; overall it is W5 D4 L7. They have won on two of their last four trips to Spain, however; against Sevilla and Villarreal CF in the 2011/12 group stage.

• Their record in two-legged ties with Spanish sides is W1 L3.

• City may have never been in the semi-finals before, but Pellegrini's Villarreal side got this far in 2005/06, losing 1-0 to Arsenal FC over two legs.

• City have lost all five of the UEFA competition ties in which they drew the home first leg, including one where that initial score was 0-0 – that 1968 European Cup tie with Fenerbahçe (1-2 away).

• City's record in penalty shoot-outs in UEFA competition is W2 L0:
4-2 v FC Midtjylland, 2008/09 UEFA Cup second qualifying round
4-3 v Aalborg BK, 2008/09 UEFA Cup round of 16

Coach and player links
• City manager Pellegrini was in charge of Madrid in 2009/10, being replaced by José Mourinho despite achieving a then club record of 96 points but finishing second in the Liga to Barcelona. His side were knocked out in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 by Olympique Lyonnais, and were eliminated from the Copa del Rey by third-tier Alcorcón.

• Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Álvaro Arbeloa are surviving squad members of Pellegrini's Madrid reign.

• Pellegrini was in charge of Villarreal from 2004 to 2009 – his team finishing runners-up to Madrid in the Liga in 2007/08 – and Málaga CF from 2010 to 2013. His record against Madrid was W3 D5 L10; those losses included a 5-0 home defeat with Villarreal in September 2007, and 7-0 (March 2011) and 6-2 (May 2013) reverses at the Bernabéu with Málaga.

• Ronaldo played for City's local rivals Manchester United between 2003 and 2009, scoring 84 goals in 196 Premier League games. He won league titles in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and scored in the 2008 UEFA Champions League final, when Sir Alex Ferguson's side beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow. Ronaldo was also in the side beaten by Barcelona 12 months later, his final United appearance before moving to Madrid.

• Ronaldo's record against City with United was W7 D1 L3. He scored four goals – all in United wins, including the only one in a 1-0 success at the City of Manchester Stadium in May 2007, but was sent off twice in away games: City's 4-1 win in March 2004 and a 1-0 United success in November 2008.

• Sergio Agüero failed to beat Real Madrid in five years at Atlético Madrid between 2006 and 2011, when he departed for City. His record was D3 L8, scoring three goals – all in Atlético defeats.  

• Gareth Bale scored in Tottenham Hotspur FC's 3-1 win against City in 2013 and a 3-2 loss in 2012.

• Luka Modrić and Bale were in the Tottenham side that won 1-0 at City in May 2010 to earn UEFA Champions League qualification at their opponents' expense.

• Arbeloa's own goal gave City a 1-1 draw at Liverpool in February 2009.

• International team-mates:
David Silva, Jesús Navas & Sergio Ramos, Nacho Fernández and Isco (Spain);
Bacary Sagna & Karim Benzema (France)
Fernandinho & Marcelo and Casemiro (Brazil)

• Twice a Spanish champion with Barcelona, Yaya Touré appeared five times against Madrid, winning three times and losing twice.

• David Silva (RC Celta de Vigo, Valencia CF), Pablo Zabaleta (RCD Espanyol), Nicolás Otamendi (Valencia), Martín Demichelis and Willy Caballero (both Málaga CF) and Jesús Navas (Sevilla FC) have all played in Spain.

• Danilo and Fernando played together for Porto between 2012 and 2014.

• Benzema took on Joe Hart in France's 1-1 draw with England at UEFA EURO 2012, Samir Nasri – not in City's UEFA Champions League squad – equalising for Les Bleus. Alonso scored both goals in Spain's quarter-final defeat of a France side including Benzema, Nasri and Gaël Clichy.

Match facts

Real Madrid
• Madrid have won ten league games in a row, their best run since December 2014 under Carlo Ancelotti (12).

• Ronaldo has 16 goals in this season's competition – one short of his own record for a single European Cup campaign, set in 2013/14.

• Ronaldo is the second highest scorer in the Liga this term behind Luis Suárez (35) on 31 goals, and is the first player in the league's history to have found the net 30 times in six consecutive seasons.

• Ronaldo has not played since being forced off at the end of Madrid's 3-0 win against Villarreal on 20 April with a slight hamstring tear. He had previously started every league and UEFA Champions League game this season.

• Benzema, having been substituted in the first period against Rayo Vallecano de Madrid the previous weekend due to a muscular problem, was withdrawn at half-time in Manchester suffering from a hamstring strain and missed the 1-0 win at Real Sociedad de Fútbol on Saturday.

• Madrid are the only side to have scored more than 100 goals in seven consecutive Liga seasons; they have 105 in 2015/16.

Manchester City
• City's eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions was ended by Sunday's 4-2 defeat at Southampton FC.

• Kelechi Iheanacho has four goals in his last two league appearances.

• Yaya Touré suffered a right leg injury in the 4-0 victory over Stoke City FC on 23 April and sat out the first leg against Madrid and the Southampton match as a result.

• David Silva was ruled out for two to three weeks with the hamstring injury he sustained in the semi-final first leg.