Arsenal and Manchester City’s exit from the quarter-finals of the Champions League last month left England without any representatives going into the last four of the competition.
The home of the Premier League is not without interest in the matches to decide which clubs meet in June’s Wembley Final, however.
Two of England’s biggest players will square up as captain Harry Kane represents Bayern Munich against young pretender Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid. The other semi-final features previous winners Borussia Dortmund and Kylian Mbappe’s Paris st Germain.
The HaytersTV reporters have assessed both ties and returned their predictions for the likely winners…
Dan Ludlam (@Danny_Luds)
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
Real Madrid will reach another final with relative comfort. Bayern will come out strong in the first leg tonight and cause a few issues but keeping Madrid quiet at the other end will prove too difficult. Taking the advantage back to the Bernabeu, I fully expect Madrid to dominate and blow away Bayern with ease and have a Wembley final to look forward to at the start of June.
Borussia Dortmund v PSG
PSG were clinical in despatching Barcelona at the Camp Nou, the French champions have still shown signs of vulnerability in Europe this season. Dortmund will swarm all over Mbappe and co in tomorrow night’s first leg and will hold firm in Paris to book a spot in their first Champions League final since 2013 – which was also held at Wembley.
James St Denis (@jamesstdenis99)
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
The battle of two of the most successful clubs in Champions League history sees two teams in contrasting fortunes face off. Real, driven by the force that is Jude Bellingham, take on record German Champions Bayern, who have goal machine Harry Kane ready to fire Thomas Tuchel’s side to Wembley. Tuchel has never last a cup semi-final, but with Ancelotti at the wheel, Real always find a way. Madrid will be heading to the final after two fiery legs.
Borussia Dortmund v PSG
The underdogs of the semi-finals, Dortmund have underwhelmed in the Bundesliga but have excelled in Europe’s premier club competition. With the likes of Jason Sancho, Julian Brandt and Marco Reus, they will be a tough opponent to face. But with a certain Kylian Mbappe spearheading PSG, it looks impossible to look past Luis Enrique’s side progressing to Wembley for a second UCL final in five years.
Nick Callow (@strollernickj)
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
Billed as Harry Kane v Jude Bellingham by the English media, I predict this tie will be won by the Spanish club. Two of the most successful clubs in European history (Munich have won it six times and Madrid 14), Madrid have the players and manager to make the difference over two legs.
Borussia Dortmund v PSG
The Yellow Wall of Dortmund might be enough to give the Germans a slender first leg lead, but everything is set up for a Madrid v Paris final, in London. There is a bit more steel about this younger Paris side and France wonder striker Kylian Mbappe is destined to play his last game for Paris against his next club in the biggest club fixture in Europe.
Dan Bennett (@dandbennett_)
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
It’s difficult to see past Real Madrid making it to the final. Bayern have been well off it in the Bundesliga this season and despite impressively knocking out Arsenal in the previous round, are not at the levels of their next opponents. The trio of Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr will be too much for the Germans to handle.
Borussia Dortmund v PSG
Borussia Dortmund have defied the odds to make it this far but PSG will be a step too far. In what will be Kylian Mbappe’s last season in Paris, I fancy him to secure a first Champions League title for the club and believe they will comfortably see off a Dortmund side who aren’t what they were in years gone by despite their impressive achievement of making it to this stage.
Gerry Cox (@GerryCox)
Bayern Munich v Dortmund final
I was at Wembley when Bayern Munich squeezed past Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund in the 2013 final, and I think I’ll be watching these two again on June 1. I saw Real Madrid get lucky to get past City in Manchester two weeks ago, so I’ll tip Thomas Tuchel to outsmart Carlo Ancelotti this time. And in the other semi-final, Dortmund are the darkest of horses while PSG are a collapse waiting to happen. So another all-German final for me.
