Preview: Champions League Semi Finalists

"Let’s take a look at the last four sides remaining in the UEFA Champions League as Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich join Manchester City and Real Madrid in the hat for Friday’s draw. The draw for the semi-finals will make made at 11:30GBT on Friday morning with the ties will be played on 26th/27th April and 3rd/4th May before the Champions League Final in Milan on 28th May 2016. "
Published by
14th Apr 2016

Let’s take a look at the last four sides remaining in the UEFA Champions League as Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich join Manchester City and Real Madrid in the hat for Friday’s draw.

 

The draw for the semi-finals will make made at 11:30GBT on Friday morning with the ties will be played on 26th/27th April and 3rd/4th May before the Champions League Final in Milan on 28th May 2016.

Can Manchester City make history and reach their first ever Champions League final? Or can Zinedine Zidane guide Real Madrid to their eleventh title?

Atletico Madrid: Diego Simeone’s men proved too tough for reigning champions Barcelona in the Quarter final and the Argentine appears to have installed a belief and togetherness within his squad which is making them a very tough team to beat.

Atleti are fast becoming one of the toughest teams to play in Europe having kept 13 clean sheets in their last 15 Champions League games at the Vicente Calderon.

Simeone’s side have also made the most tackles, most interceptions and won the more aerial duels than anyone else in the competition and have reached European semi-finals three times in the past four years.

Antoine Griezmann: The forward is Atleti’s top scorer in the competition with six goals in ten games, including a brace in Quarter Final Second Leg to knock out the holders, Barcelona.


Bayern Munich: Still remain the favourites to win the competition as they search for their sixth Champions League trophy in their history.

Pep Guardiola could well come up against his new suitors Manchester City in the semi final as he hopes to leave his post at the Allianz Arena with a Champions League league winner added to his growing managerial CV.

The Bundesliga giants continue to take European football by storm as they reach their fifth consecutive Champions League semi-final. They topped Group F with ease before knocking out Juventus and Benfica in the knockout stages and their attacking presence has seen them score 28 goals in the competition so far.

Thomas Muller: He has scored eight goals in this year’s competition and is a constant performer who always performs in the big games. If it wasn’t for his late goal against Juventus and double against Benfica, Bayern would be watching the rest of the competition at home by now.   


Manchester City: The only English side who remain in the competition and undoubtedly the outsiders to go all the way in the tournament.

City’s inexperience at this stage of the Champions League is what makes them outsiders. However, their victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the previous round is not to be underestimated.

The return to fitness of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne  is a welcome boost to the Manchester club and if they can keep Sergio Aguero fit then they have a chance.

City can take heart from their performances away from home this year in Europe which has seen them beat Monchengladbach, Sevilla and Dynamo Kiev on their travels.

Sergio Aguero: Despite only having two Champions League goals to his name, he is a key part of the Manchester City engine and is capable of changing a game by himself with his quality and calmness in front of goal.


Real Madrid: The Spanish giants have the Champions League’s best player in their ranks and with sixteen goals so far this campaign Cristiano Ronaldo can fire Los Blancos to European glory.

However the other sides will fancy their chances against Real after they have showed signs of vulnerability and defensive frailties. Most notably against Wolfsburg where Zinedine Zindane’s side succumbed to a 2-0 defeat in the first leg.

Madrid have a wealth of experience in their squad and this stands them in good stead to go all the way in the competition like they did in 2013/14.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Top of the scoring charts by a distance and fresh off the back of his scintilating hat-trick against Wolfsburg at the Bernabeu, the Portugal international shows no signs of slowing down. A true match winner.

Football Ticket Pad is a secure online ticketing platform for buying and selling tickets. Tickets to watch Manchester City, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich can all be purchased through the Football Ticket Pad website allowing you to watch some of the biggest matches in world football.

Tickets are also available to watch the 2016 Champions League Final in Milan on 28th May 2016 on Football Ticket Pad.