Manchester City will take part in their first ever Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night when they welcome Real Madrid to the Etihad Stadium for the first leg.

Just 180 minutes could separate Manuel Pellegrini's side from the final in Milan, but first they must overcome the 10-time champions over two legs.

Man City

When it was confirmed that Pep Guardiola will be arriving at the Etihad Stadium this summer, few would have expected him to be taking over with the club as European champions.

That is the situation he found himself in at Bayern Munich, and the dream is fast becoming a believable one for City fans too as Pellegrini looks to depart having led the club to their greatest triumph.

Of course, there is still a long way to go in the competition, and Madrid will go into this semi-final tie as favourites to progress, but City have already upset the odds on a few occasions throughout this year's tournament.

Last season's runners-up Juventus had to settle for a second-place finish behind Pellegrini's side in the group stages, while in the quarter-finals City overcame an in-form Paris Saint-Germain side 3-2 on aggregate.

They go into Tuesday's game in good form too, having won five and lost none of their seven games so far in April, scoring 17 goals in the process and conceding just four.

That includes a 4-0 drubbing of Stoke City on Saturday that kept them third in the Premier League table, and while the title is now mathematically out of their reach, they boast a five-point lead over fifth-placed Manchester United.

In addition to the hope of going out on top, Pellegrini may also have another personal mission over the two legs, having been sacked by Madrid in 2010 after just one season in charge despite guiding them to a club-record tally of points in La Liga.

The Chilean does also have experience at this stage of the Champions League having steered Villarreal to the last four in 2006, only to lose to eventual runners-up Arsenal 1-0 on aggregate.

However, City have kept only one clean sheet in their 10 Champions League games against Spanish opposition and are likely to surrender more of the ball to their opponents having averaged just 48.6% possession in the competition this season - the lowest total of any of the semi-finalists.

Recent form: LWWDDW
Recent form (all competitions): DWWWDW

Real Madrid

It is fair to say that Real Madrid's situation at this stage of the season is far better than they would have expected it to be just a month ago.

At that point they looked to be out of the La Liga title race and the odds were all in favour of them having to watch on as arch rivals Barcelona made history with a second consecutive treble.

Barca did both Madrid clubs a favour with a dramatic loss of form at the start of April, however, and Real kept up their end of the bargain to capitalise and haul themselves back into contention for the double.

There is still work to be done domestically after Barca returned to form in style, while Atletico are also currently better placed to pip their city rivals to the title. However, Madrid have won 11 of their last 12 games in all competitions, including nine in a row in the league, and will be ready to pounce on any further slip-ups from the top two.

Their last defeat in any competition came in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals when they looked to be on course for a shock early exit at the hands of Wolfsburg.

However, Cristiano Ronaldo came to the rescue with a second-leg hat-trick at the Bernabeu to overturn the two-goal deficit and book Madrid's place in a sixth consecutive semi-final.

The contrast in experience at this level between the two clubs could not be greater, with City appearing in their first semi-final and Real participating in a record 27th.

However, the 10-time champions only have a 50% success record from the previous 26, including reaching just one final from their five straight appearances in the last four.

They have also lost four of their last six away semi-final legs and only won one of their last four away legs in the knockout stages, but have won on each of their last three visits to England.

Recent form: WWWWLW
Recent form (all competitions): LWWWWW

Team News

Man City will be without Yaya Toure for Tuesday's match after he picked up a thigh injury in the closing stages of Saturday's win over Stoke City.

The likes of Vincent Kompany and Kevin De Bruyne have had injury problems of their own this season and were both rested at the weekend, but will return to the starting XI for this one.

Sergio Aguero started and scored in that game to make it five goals in his last three, but he is currently on a three-match drought in the Champions League - his longest in this competition since a run of five games between November 2011 and October 2012.

Madrid will be hopeful that Ronaldo is fit and firing after the striker was forced to miss the weekend win over Rayo Vallecano due to a muscle problem.

The Portuguese star has scored or assisted 20 of Madrid's 26 Champions League goals this season and needs just one more goal to equal the record of 17 in a single campaign - a record he himself set in 2013-14.

Karim Benzema limped off at the weekend with a hamstring injury, but he is also expected to be fit to start alongside Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, who scored twice on his own return from injury against Rayo.

Man City possible starting lineup:
Hart; Sagna, Otamendi, Kompany, Clichy; Fernando, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling; Aguero

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Navas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Kroos, Isco; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo

Head To Head

These two sides have met just twice before, with both games coming in the 2012-13 Champions League group stages when Madrid came from behind twice to win 3-2 at the Bernabeu before a 1-1 reverse at the Etihad.

City have only won one of four previous two-legged ties with Spanish opposition, while their overall record against La Liga teams stands at five wins, three draws and seven defeats (W3 D2 L2 at home).

Real, on the other hand, are unbeaten in their last eight games against English sides since they were thrashed 5-0 on aggregate by Liverpool in the 2008-09 last 16 (W6 D2). Their record on English soil is mixed, with six wins, three draws and five defeats, but in two-legged ties they have emerged victorious on seven of 11 occasions.

We say: Man City 2-2 Real Madrid

Man City have impressed in this season's competition, showing a more streetwise edge that will help them against Real Madrid. However, Madrid are in fine form themselves and will be confident of getting away goals with their front three all expected to be fit. We think that City may be able to avoid defeat, but that it will be advantage Madrid at the halfway stage of the tie.