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This is another clash between the two powerful football countries of Germany and Spain. In the first semi-final, clubs representing these countries, "Bayern" and "Barcelona", faced each other.
Dortmund's "Borussia"
The Dortmund footballers, led by Jurgen Klopp, will feel the support of their own fans gathered at the "Westfalenstadion" arena in the first of the two semi-final matches. This football fortress is known for its great atmosphere and impressive mosaic displays in the stands, so the royal club of "Real" will face another test on the road to the final of the elite tournament.
The journey of the "Borussia" club to the Champions League semi-final was not easy. In the group stage, the Dortmund team faced tough challenges - the "yellow-blacks" were placed in group D, which was immediately dubbed the "group of death" after the draw. Here, J. Klopp's pupils once defeated the then English champions "Manchester City", once defeated today's opponent "Real", and the Amsterdam "Ajax" could not resist the Germans even once.
In the round of 16, Dortmund had to face the Donetsk "Shakhtar" team without their leader Willian, as they drew 2-2 at home but suffered a crushing defeat away (3-0).
The quarterfinals were particularly dramatic for the "yellow-blacks". J. Klopp's troops returned from Spain without scoring as the match ended 0-0. However, a rare beauty of football spectacle was witnessed in Germany - trailing 1-2 until the 90th minute of the match, "Borussia" snatched victory in extra time and secured a historic ticket to the semi-finals of the strongest tournament on the Old Continent.
In Germany, Dortmund has almost nothing left to fight for. The "Bundesliga" title could not be defended by the "yellow-blacks". It was pre-secured by the Munich "Bayern" club, who currently lead the standings with a 20-point lead over the second-placed "Borussia". In the national cup ("DfB-Pokal"), J. Klopp's pupils were eliminated in the quarterfinals, where they lost to the Bavarian team coached by Jupp Heynckes.
Before the semi-final stage, the Dortmund club has no injury worries. Mats Hummels, who recently recovered from an Achilles tendon injury, has had some playing practice recently and will be ready for the first semi-final match. However, sad news reached the "Borussia" fans on Tuesday - it was revealed that after the season, one of the team's leaders, Mario Gotze, will join their rivals from "Bayern". Nevertheless, the team will still have the support it needs on Wednesday.
Madrid's "Real"
The extravagant coach of the royal club, Jose Mourinho, has already stirred things up with his words and is facing another tough test. In the group stage, out of two attempts to outsmart his opponent J. Klopp, he failed both times.
Madrid's journey to the UEFA Champions League semi-final was also not easy. "Los Blancos" played in the same group D of death as their semi-final opponents. The royal club never managed to defeat "Borussia", won once against "Manchester City" and left no hope for the Ajax players.
In the round of 16, J. Mourinho faced a real challenge - the team coached by Sir Alex Ferguson, "Manchester United". After a 1-1 draw at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium, Madrid's footballers needed at least one goal at "Old Trafford". The job for the royal club was made easier by the referee who sent off a Manchester United player, and taking advantage of that, the Real players defeated their opponents 2-1 and secured a place in the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, the Madrid footballers faced a challenge from the strengthened Istanbul club "Galatasaray". In the first leg, the "Real" team easily defeated the Turkish club with a 3-0 score, but away, the team led by Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder almost caused trouble for the royal club. However, J. Mourinho and his team made it to the semi-final stage.
In the national championship, the fate of Madrid's "Real" seems similar to that of their opponents. It seems that they will also not be able to defend the title of "Primera" champions, as with 6 rounds left in the championship, "Barcelona" leads them by 13 points. However, in the cup competitions, "Los Blancos" have reached the final, where they will face the Madrid "Atletico" footballers.
The team will be without left-back Marcelo, so we should see Fabio Coentrao in that position. It is unknown whether Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, who are recovering from minor injuries, will play.
Previous head-to-head matches:
"Real Madrid" 2 - 2 "Borussia Dortmund" (Champions League, 2012) "Borussia Dortmund" 3 - 2 "Real Madrid" (Champions League, 2012) "Borussia Dortmund" 0 - 5 "Real Madrid" (Friendly match, 2009)
Predicted starting lineups:
Portal "Eurofootball.lt" friends' predictions:
Mantas Katleris: "Borussia" 1 - 1 "Real Madrid" Paulius Ambrazevicius: "Borussia" 1 - 1 "Real Madrid" Paulius Jakelis: "Borussia" 1 - 3 "Real Madrid" Valdas Dambrauskas: "Borussia" 1 - 2 "Real Madrid" Arturas Rimkevicius: "Borussia" 1 - 2 "Real Madrid" Gediminas Reklaitis: "Borussia" 1 - 1 "Real Madrid" Tomas Langvinis: "Borussia" 1 - 3 "Real Madrid"
Eurofootball.com prediction: While J. Mourinho's team will not lack additional motivation, playing at home and with a young, ambitious team will allow Dortmund's "Borussia" to at least match the powerful opponents again. 1 - 1.
