Champions League Matchday Preview: Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid

Bayern Munich's Colombian forward #14 Luis Diaz celebrates scoring the opening goal with Bayern Munich's Austrian midfielder #27 Konrad Laimer (R) during the UEFA Champions League quarter final first leg football match between Real Madrid CF and FC Bayern Munich at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on April 7, 2026. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images After dominating for the first 70 minutes of the first leg in the Champions League quarterfinals, Bayern Munich eventually escaped with a 2-1 advantage over Real Madrid. This also marked Bayern’s first win over Real Madrid in the last 10 meetings.

Over the weekend, Bayern traveled back to Germany for a 5-0 beatdown of St. Pauli, breaking the Bundesliga’s single-season scoring record with five games to spare. Real Madrid caught fire in March but have suffered two losses and a draw since Kylian Mbappé returned from injury.

Real Madrid have a rich history of producing Champions League magic but will need to convert their chances in front of a raucous crowd at the Allianz. Match Info Locatio n: Allianz Arena, Munich Germany Date: Wednesday, April 15th, 2026 Time: 9:00pm local time (3:00pm EST) TV/streaming: Paramount Plus , Univision , DAZN (via Prime Video) , Find Your Country Odds: Bayern (-190), Draw (+400), Real Madrid (+375) Team Info Here is the predicted lineup, courtesy of BFW: Lineup changes IN: Harry Kane, Luis Díaz, Aleksandar Pavlović, Josip Stanišić, Dayot Upamecano, Jonathan Tah OUT: Nicolas Jackson, Raphaël Guerreiro, Leon Goretzka, Tom Bischof, Kim Min-jae, Hiroki Itō Player status updates Harry Kane, calf (probable) Serge Gnabry, knee (questionable) Hiroki Itō, thigh (questionable) Lennart Karl, thigh (out) Sven Ulreich, adductor (out) One yellow card away from suspension Konrad Laimer Dayot Upamecano Jonathan Tah Manuel Neuer Three things to know about Bayern In the last five years, Bayern has only lost once at home in the Champions League, a 2-1 quarterfinal defeat at the hands of Inter Milan in 2025 The only time the German record champions have been eliminated after an away win in the first leg was in the 2010/11 Champions League round of 16 against Inter, when the old away goals rule meant a 3-2 defeat in the second leg at the Allianz Arena was not enough following the 1-0 victory in Milan (via FCBayern. com ) In both losses this season, Bayern has been held to a single goal but Bayern has scored multiple goals in 14 of the last 15 matches Three things to know about Real Madrid Leading Scorer: Kylian Mbappé, 39 goals Player to watch: Vinícius Júnior, attacker Form: WWLLD; 2nd place (La Liga) Prediction Bayern draws 3-3 (advances on 5-4 aggregate).

This is going to be one of the wildest games you’ll ever see. Bayern presses early against Real Madrid’s low block and Harry Kane scores a header from a set piece. Real Madrid will storm back with three straight goals from Kylian Mbappé to take the aggregate lead.