Bayern Munich Vs Real Madrid : Champions League Preview

Bavarian giants face off against Los Blancos in the Allianz Arena as the battle promises to be a blockbuster in the Champions League Semi-Finals.

2013 champions FC Bayern Munich and 13-time champions Real Madrid will clash in the first leg of what is probably the most interesting semi-final of this season's UEFA Champions League in the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night. With no chances left of defending their domestic crown, Real Madrid face the first of possibly three matches which will define whether their season is a historic success or an abject failure. Bayern Munich, on the other hand, will have revenge on their minds. Both Bayern and Real looked disappointing in the second leg of their quarterfinals which saw Bayern unable to score and Real edging past Juventus courtesy of a controversial penalty by Cristiano Ronaldo. The Los Blancos were the favorites after they trumped the Italian giants Juventus 3-0 but suffered a scare as they were trailing 3-0 after 67 minutes but a controversial penalty converted by Ronaldo made sure that the Los Blancos progressed to the quarterfinals` for the 8th consecutive time. For the Germans, a 2-1 lead over Sevilla in the first leg was enough to see them go through as they drew  0-0 in the second leg.  Although the Bavarian giants qualified, they were unexpectedly poor in their own turf and somehow managed a draw. Bayern qualified for the 7th time in 9 years. Coached by France legend Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid know that everything hangs on winning a third successive Champions League title after a dismal domestic campaign where they are 15 points behind Barca and were knocked out of the Copa Del Rey by Alaves. Real may miss their versatile defender Nacho who has been absent from the last week of March. The club captain Sergio Ramos return to the squad after serving a suspension in the 2nd leg against Juventus. Bayern will view the tie as a chance to avenge last season's controversial exit to Madrid in the quarter-finals when they had players (Javi Martinez and Arturo Vidal) sent off in both legs as Madrid ran out 4-2 aggregate winners after extra time in the Bernabeu. The German side has already won a seventh consecutive Bundesliga and has not forgotten the performance of referee Viktor Kassaa in last year's quarter-finals in which he sent off Vidal and committed several other errors. Apart from the return leg against Juventus, Madrid have been excellent in the knockout stages of the Champions League this season, playing exceptionally well to knock out Paris Saint Germain and winning 3-0 in Turin. Heynckes has two options for his starting 11 in the Munich arena on Wednesday. To make the right choice could be the key to a repeat of the club's best ever year in 2013 when his team won the treble. While the defense in both options will be made of right back Joshua Kimmich, central defenders Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels plus left-back David Alaba, the midfield selections will ultimately decide the Bavarian's approach. Zidane, on the other hand, will look to adopt a more balanced team with Ronaldo up-front along with Benzema. Including Bale in the starting line-up looks unlikely as the Welshman looked poor against the Italian giants and will look to include younger players like Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio in the line-up. The match-up between the teams looks very much balanced as both the teams are well matched and the fixture promises to be a blockbuster of the Champions League