One is in unchartered territory and the other is the most decorated side in the competition. It couldn't be more different. The first semi-final of the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League is a contest between two teams with contrasting histories. Manchester City will be looking to enjoy the moment as long as it lasts, whereas Real Madrid will be aiming to revive their European domination.
The high-profile match will be Man City's maiden appearance in the semi-final stage, and they are playing probably the most experienced team in the premier European competition. The Spanish giants have won the competition a record ten times and are playing their sixth consecutive semi-final this year. Real Madrid, though, have gone through to the final only once in the said period, which was in 2013-14 season when they claimed the long-awaited 'La Decima' (their record tenth title).
The two teams have only met twice in the competition, which occurred when they were clubbed in the same group during the 2012-13 season's group stage. In their first Champions League showdown at the Bernabeu, Real defeated Man City 3-2 with the help of a late winner by Cristiano Ronaldo. In the return leg at the Etihad stadium, they played out a 1-1 draw.
Head to Head: Man City 0, Real Madrid 1, Draw 1
Manchester City
UCL history: Man City are relatively a new team in the Champions League set-up as they played in it for the first time in 2011-12 season. But since then, with their increasing prominence in the Premier League they have become a regular in Europe's premier competition. They have never gone beyond the Round of 16 in their previous four attempts, until this season. During the period, they have won the domestic league (EPL) twice and finished runners-up thrice.
UCL stats: P 40; W 16; D 9; L 15
Road to semi-finals:
* Group Stage: Topped Group D with 12 points after four wins in six games, finishing ahead of Italy's Juventus, Spain's Sevilla and Germany's Borussia Monchengladbach.
* Round of 16: Defeated Ukraine's Dynamo Kyiv 3-1 in aggregate. They won their home leg comfortably with a 3-1 scoreline, before playing out a 0-0 draw in Ukraine in the second leg.
* Quarter-finals: Beat France's Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 3-2 in aggregate. They came back on top, with two away goals, after a 2-2 draw in the Paris leg, and then beat the French champions 1-0 at home to book their maiden semi-finals spot in the Champions League.
Top scorers this season: Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling - three goals each in eight games.
Weekend result: Manchester City crushed Stoke City 4-0
Form guide (all competitions, most recent first): W, D, W, W, W, D
Real Madrid
UCL History: Real Madrid are the most successful club in Europe and won the coveted title a record ten times, including four times since it was rebranded as the Champions League from the European Cup in 1992. They are also the most successful team in their domestic circuit, winning the Spanish league (La Liga) a record 32 times. They are a regular in the final stages of the league and haven't miss semi-final spot since the turn of the decade, that's since 2010-11 season. They got their hands on the coveted trophy two seasons back in 2013-14.
UCL stats: P 395; W 235; D 68; L 92
Road to semi-finals:
* Group Stage: Topped Group A with 16 points after five wins and a draw in six games, finishing ahead of France's PSG, Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk and Sweden's Malmo FF.
* Round of 16: Beat Italy's AS Roma 4-0 in aggregate. They won both the legs comfortably with an identical 2-0 score-lines.
* Quarter-finals: Beat Germany's VfL Wolfsburg 3-2 in aggregate. After losing their away leg 0-2, they came back strongly, led by Ronaldo's brilliant hat-trick, in their home leg to beat Wolfsburg 3-0.
Top scorer this season: Cristiano Ronaldo - 16 goals in ten games (leading scorer of the competition)
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