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A Champions League semi-final spot is at stake when Manchester City and Real Madrid collide in the second leg of their quarter-final clash on Wednesday night.

This tie had blockbuster material written all over it when the draw was made given their recent duels at this late stage of the competition, and the pair certainly didn’t disappoint in the Spanish capital last week. A first leg full of utterly ludicrous finishes ended 3-3, with City undoubtedly departing the happier of the two sides ahead of the return in Manchester.

They’ll now get to enjoy the comforts of the Etihad Stadium in midweek as they aim to complete an unprecedented double-treble. Pep Guardiola’s side are unbeaten in 2024 and they returned to the top of the Premier League table at the weekend following Liverpool and Arsenal defeats.

Real Madrid lead the way in La Liga, maintaining their eight-point buffer over Barcelona ahead of El Clasico by beating Mallorca at the weekend. Despite their domestic success, some will deem the campaign a disappointment should they exit the Champions League at this premature stage.

Here’s 90min’s preview of Wednesday’s quarter-final second leg.

Man City vs Real Madrid H2H record (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

Guardiola only recently had a mini defensive injury crisis on his hands, but the situation has improved considerably ahead of the second leg.

Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake were both in the matchday squad at the weekend, with the former expected to come back into the team on Wednesday. Ederson was also back in action against Luton having missed the previous month with a muscle injury.

Rodri, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, and Phil Foden were all rested ahead of Madrid’s visit.

Man City predicted lineup vs Madrid (3-4-2-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Gvardiol; Stones, Rodri; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Foden, Grealish; Haaland.

Aurelien Tchouameni, who scored the game’s only goal in Madrid’s win over Mallorca, is suspended for Wednesday’s game.

Nacho is expected to partner Antonio Rudiger at centre-back with Eder Militao not believed to be ready for a start in a game of this magnitude after only recently returning from injury.

Madrid are still without long-term injury absentees Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba.

Madrid predicted lineup vs Man City (4-3-1-2): Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Camavinga, Kroos, Valverde; Bellingham; Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo.

As was the case in last season’s semi-final, there’s a prevailing feeling that Real Madrid needed to win their home first leg to advance beyond Guardiola’s juggernaut.

While Carlo Ancelotti’s side are firmly in the tie, the fact the second leg arrives at the Etihad reduces their chances of pulling off the upset.

City overcame a major hurdle by battering Madrid in Manchester on their way to the treble, and they’ll be fully confident of toppling the record winners on Wednesday. Kyle Walker’s return is huge, with Guardiola managing his squad superbly during the run-in thus far.

They’re well-placed to triumph and progress into the last four.

Prediction: Man City 3-1 Real Madrid

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For the first time in their history, Bayer Leverkusen are Bundesliga champions.

This is the club that was once branded ‘Neverkusen’ thanks to four second-place finishes in the space of six seasons between 1996 and 2002, the latter year also seeing them lose the Champions League final against Real Madrid in a famous contest at Hampden Park.

It is an incredibly proud moment for Leverkusen, the club and the city, and testament to the work done by the sporting department and head coach Xabi Alonso.

Significant, too, is what it means for German football as a whole. No club other than Bayern Munich had been crowned Bundesliga champions since 2012 in an unprecedented reign of dominance. That streak of successive national titles is now over at 11, with hope of ushering in a newly competitive era after more than a decade of monopolisation.

Bayern’s dreadful campaign has arguably not even been a contributory factor, with Leverkusen laying down one of the greatest-ever Bundesliga campaigns. The cracks in the Munich machine were starting to show in 2022, claiming last year’s title with only 71 points, Germany’s lowest winning tally since 2009/10. But no one was there to take advantage.

Leverkusen dramatically changed that in 2023/24, leaving a sorry Bayern in their wake to wrap up the league with five games still left to play. They have already substantially exceeded Bayern’s 2022/23 tally and are within touching distance of the Bundesliga’s all-time points record – currently 91 set in 2012/13. That record will fall if Leverkusen win just four of their remaining fixtures.

90min takes a look at just how they did it…

The transformative effect that Alonso has had since his appointment in October 2022 has been nothing short of incredible. Leverkusen were in the relegation zone when he arrived, having taken only four points from their opening eight games of the season, but marked Alonso’s first game with a statement 4-0 victory over Schalke and went on to put two significant winning runs together – the first straddling the World Cup break and the second across March and April – to climb to sixth.

That in itself was impressive enough. But Alonso has since kicked Leverkusen onto the next level in what has been his first full season as a senior head coach.

The immediate change when Alonso started work was a switch in formation, moving from the 4-2-3-1 preferred by predecessor Gerardo Seoane to a system utilising a back three and attacking wing-backs. Fluidity further up the pitch has seen tweaks between two ‘number tens’ operating behind a single central striker, or a sole ‘number ten’ just beneath two strikers.

Having become the leading young coach in world football, the 41-year-old’s decision to pledge his future beyond this season to Leverkusen was a massive boost as they prepare to return to the Champions League in 2024/25. But his bosses don’t expect him to stay forever, with chief executive Fernando Carro admitting there is “no doubt” Alonso will take charge of Real Madrid one day. Liverpool or Bayern Munich would also be on the cards in Carro’s mind.

A back-three system done well will always make it more difficult for an opposing teams to score and it’s no coincidence that Leverkusen have only conceded 19 times across their first 29 games. The next best defensive record belongs to RB Leipzig, who have allowed 33 goals against them.

Leverkusen haven’t often made use of a scrappy 1-0 win, recording only two such score-lines in the Bundesliga, but clean sheets – of which there have been 15 – naturally make wins easier to come by because it takes the burden away from scoring goals, not there has been a problem there anyway.

Jonathan Tah has been the mainstay of the back three, starting 26 Bundesliga games, but the others have been relatively fluid. Piero Hincapie, Edmond Tapsoba, Odilon Kossounou and Josip Stanisic have rotated between the two other places, starting between 11 and 18 times in the league.

Hand in hand with hard to score against is hard to beat, and Leverkusen are just five games away from recording an undefeated Bundesliga season, having yet to lose so far in 2023/24.

On the rare occasions that record has been under threat, doggedness has got Alonso’s team through. A 94th-minute penalty from Exequiel Palacios snatched a 2-2 draw with Bayern back in September, while Victor Boniface equalised towards the end when trailing to Borussia Dortmund in December.

Most crucial to any back three formation are the wing-backs who flank the central defenders. That is any such system has the potential to break down because they have to serve as both defensive-minded full-backs and attack-minded wingers in one.

Leverkusen’s have thrived. Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo have contributed defensively, all the while both being among the squad’s top scorers and most creative players. Frimpong has racked up 16 goal involvements across his 27 Bundesliga appearances, while Grimaldo has 22 in 29.

Without the pair of them, this season wouldn’t have been nearly as successful as it has been.

Once of Barcelona’s La Masia, Grimaldo is in his first year in Germany after his contract with Benfica expired last season. To have the kind of impact he has is huge, but the 28-year-old is not alone in arriving in Leverkusen and hitting the ground running.

The club spent handsomely last summer to build off Alonso’s initial success but have seen a rapid return on that investment when it comes to performances and results. Victor Boniface’s €20m transfer from Union Saint-Gilloise looks like tremendous value in light of his 11 goals and nine assists in 18 Bundesliga games – it would have been even more but for a three-month injury absence. Granit Xhaka has started every league match since joining from Arsenal, while Jonas Hofmann has become key, with Nathan Tella and the aforementioned Stanisic, on loan from Bayern, valuable squad players.

Alonso was able to get vastly more out of the Leverkusen squad last season than his predecessor, but smart recruitment over the summer took an already talented group to new heights.

You wonder how different this season might have been had Bayern held on to beat Leverkusen when they met in Munich just four games in. Leverkusen put together eight straight wins off the back of grabbing a point at the death, and while Bayern weren’t unduly affected by dropping two points, they did stumble a few months down the line, Leverkusen’s momentum gladly carried them ahead.

When they met again at the BayArena in February, Alonso’s team had taken 52 points from a possible 60 at that stage of the season and were feeling fully invincible and able to beat anyone, to the point where an already vulnerable Bayern were put to the sword with a 3-0 score-line. That result prompted Bayern’s collapse, winning only four of their eight Bundesliga games since.

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Regardless of how poor Bayern Munich have been by their own lofty standards this season, Arsenal knew that facing them in the Champions League quarter-final would be extremely complicated.

The Bundesliga giants have immense pedigree in Europe’s premier competition and coach Thomas Tuchel has won this trophy before. In Harry Kane, they also have one of the world’s best centre-forwards, and one that enjoys a magnificent scoring record against Arsenal.

Therefore, despite their domestic woes, it was no surprise that Bayern managed to secure a 2-2 draw with Arsenal during the first leg of the quarter-final at the Emirates. Former Gunner Serge Gnabry and ex-Tottenham forward Kane punished some reckless moments from Mikel Arteta’s defence, with the second leg at the Allianz Arena finely poised.

Not many teams manage to win at the home of the six-time European champions, but that’s what Arsenal need to do to ensure qualification to the semi-final and avoid the nerve-wracking possibility of extra-time and penalties.

But have Arsenal ever won at Bayern before? And what is their record like in Munich?

Arsenal have made a handful of trips to Bayern over the years but have only ever claimed one victory. That triumph came in the second leg of the 2012/13 Champions League last 16, with a 2-0 win courtesy of an early strike from Olivier Giroud and a late effort from Laurent Koscielny.

While perhaps a significant result for Arsenal psychologically, it had no impact on their Champions League campaign having fallen to a 3-1 defeat in the first leg at the Emirates. Despite the score being 3-3 on aggregate after 180 minutes, Bayern went through on away goals.

Given Bayern went on to win the Champions League that campaign after beating Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the final at Wembley – with this season’s final also being held at England’s national team stadium – it wasn’t a bad result from the Gunners on the road.

If they managed to repeat that feat in this year’s quarter-final second leg, they would book their spot in the final four.

Arsenal have played Bayern six times in their own backyard, with that 2-0 victory their only success in Munich. They have lost four and drawn one of their other meetings, including some absolute humiliations against the German giants.

Before Bayern’s move to the Allianz, Arsenal lost in the group stage and last 16 on their turf, including a 3-1 defeat in 2005 courtesy of a Claudio Pizarro brace. There was then the sole victory in 2013, after which Arsenal secured a 1-1 draw during the following season – although that draw still saw them exit the Champions League at the last 16.

But their last two visits to Munich have been utterly disastrous, suffering embarrassing 5-1 defeats on both occasions. The first came in the 2015/16 group stage thanks to a double from Thomas Muller and goals from Robert Lewandowski, David Alaba and Arjen Robben.

The second in the 2016/17 last 16 was even more humiliating given Arsenal also went on to lose the second leg 5-1, finishing up with a laughable 10-2 aggregate defeat. Muller, Lewandowski and Robben got on the scoresheet again that evening, while Liverpool midfielder Thiago also netted twice.

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CF Montreal picked up three much-needed points at home against FC Cincinnati to claim their first home win of the 2024 Major League Soccer season.

The Canadian side returned to their home ground of Stade Saputo after beginning the season with a six-game road that included two wins, three defeats and one draw. Montreal were forced into playing their first six games of 2024 on the road because of the lingering winter conditions at.

Montreal would’ve instead played at the nearby Olympic Stadium but were forced to start on the road due to renovations at the indoor venue.

Montreal’s 2024 campaign started off in bright fashion under first-year head coach Laurent Courtois. The team managed a goalless draw against Orlando City before pulling off two wins against FC Dallas and a Lionel Messi-less Inter Miami.

However, with three straight defeats against Chicago Fire, DC United and Seattle Sounders following the victory at Chase Stadium on March 10, Montreal needed to get back on track. There was no better way to do that than in front of their supporters, but they faced stiff competition coming up against reigning Supporters’ Shield champions and reigning league MVP Lucho Acosta.

Former Atlanta United and Miami striker Josef Martinez added his second goal of the season to put the hosts up just before the halftime whistle. Yuya Kubo pulled on back for the Orange and Blue just before the 60th minute mark, but it was Ariel Lassiter who restored the lead just a few minutes later.

Courtois’s side on for the three points in their first home win of the campaign and first victory overall in over a month, climbing back into the MLS Cup playoffs picture in the Eastern Conference after seven games played.

“I’m very happy with the three points tonight for the fans and the guys too after the last three games. I’m proud of the content tonight because that’s how we want to be recognized,” Courtois said after the victory. “We kept our composure even after Cincinnati equalized. I was nervous we wouldn’t be able to replicate the energy of the fans. But that was exactly what we had in mind.”

Montreal have looked a much better side than the inconsistent 2023 team that just missed out on postseason action under Hernan Losada, who was let go after the regular season. Even though the results started to tail off for a few weeks, Courtois hopes that the triumph over a top side will give the team confidence to go on another unbeaten run.

“Playing a home game is certainly a factor, but we know what we do during the week and what we want to deliver on the pitch. The whole thing is a puzzle that we piece together gradually. When one part doesn’t fit, it’s easy to call everything into question. Tonight, the whole group was up to standard. Everything was in its place. The final product is what we expected,” he said.

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Mauricio Pochettino left his Monday night press conference in a fit of rage after being asked to comment on the bizarre penalty incident that occurred between Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson.

Chelsea defeated Everton in a comprehensive 6-0 score-line, with talented forward Cole Palmer managing four goals to take his Premier League tally for the season to 20.

However, there was one major topic on everyone’s minds after the game, and unfortunately it wasn’t the result, which leaves a previously woeful Chelsea within touching distance of the top six.

Palmer, the normal penalty taker for the Blues this season, looked ready to step up when the kick was awarded. But, Madueke took the ball, prompting Jackson to argue that he should take it instead.

The conversation soon became heated, before captain Conor Gallagher stepped in to inform them that Palmer would in fact be the player taking the shot.

Pochettino was quick to apologise on behalf of his players, stating that this would be “the last time” he would allow this kind of behaviour.

Although, it seemed the Blues boss himself was tired of talking about the matter, as he promptly left his press conference after being hounded about the penalty. A video showed the boss complaining about intense questioning, before choosing to leave the room.

Pochettino was heard saying: “All day we talk about one thing” before turning around and reaffirming his point to the press. You all [asked] one [question] all press conference. Every question was in this way [about the penalty incident].”

The Argentine boss had nothing left to say after he promptly exited the room at Stamford Bridge, bringing the press conference to an abrupt end.

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