How to Watch the 2022 Champions League Semifinals Leg 1

How to watch the 2022 Champions League semifinals leg 1 originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Adrenaline is at a high as we enter the first legs of the Champions League semifinals. 

The quarterfinal round saw reigning champions Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Atlético Madrid and Benfica eliminated from the competition, as the field was cut down from eight to four teams. 

Liverpool swoop into the semifinals with revved-up confidence after scoring a total of six goals during the quarterfinals. Their first matchup with Benfica resulted in a Liverpool victory, 3-1. The second leg of the quarterfinals ended in a tie, 3-3, so Benfica said their goodbyes.

Manchester City only managed one goal across its quarterfinal matches, but that one goal was all they needed to bump Atlético Madrid from entering the semifinal round. Manchester City’s 1-0 victory occurred in the first leg while their second matchup with Atlético Madrid resulted in a tie of 0-0.

In the first leg of the quarterfinals, Real Madrid beat reigning Champions League champion Chelsea 3-1. Chelsea did come back to claim victory in the second leg at 3-2, but it wasn’t enough for them to advance.

Villarreal are also humbly entering the semifinals after coming off a successful quarterfinals against Bayern Munich. Villarreal beat Bayern 1-0 in the first leg and tied 1-1 in the second leg, ultimately pushing them forward to the next round.

A lot has happened in the past two weeks in the soccer world. There were many upsets, including that of Chelsea, who were expecting another shot to claim the championship. There were also many pleasant surprises like Villarreal’s win over Bayern, considering they were +525 underdogs, and Real Madrid’s unexpected victory over Chelsea.

Will Real Madrid make it to their first Champions League Final since 2018? Will underdogs Villarreal continue their winning streak and defeat the semifinal favorite Liverpool?

Here’s everything you need to know about the first legs of the Champions League semifinals

The teams playing and the game times for leg 1 of the semifinals are as follows:

• Manchester City vs. Real Madrid: Tuesday, April 26 at 3 p.m. ET
• Liverpool vs. Villarreal: Wednesday, April 27 at 3 p.m. ET

The UEFA Champions League can be watched on CBS in English or on Univision in Spanish.

The UEFA Champions League can be streamed on CBS and Paramount+ in English or Univision and fuboTV in Spanish. 

Liverpool are currently the favorite, with Manchester City close behind, according to our partner, PointsBet.

• Liverpool: +120
• Manchester City: +125
• Real Madrid: +600
• Villarreal: +2000

Liverpool are the favorite to win their semifinal matches against Villarreal, as well as make it to the finals. Manchester City are the favorite to win against Real Madrid in the semifinals, and also make it to the finals.

• Liverpool: -715
• Manchester City: -278
• Real Madrid: +200
• Villarreal: +450

The English Premier League teams are much more likely to win the title this year than the teams from La Liga. The odds that a team from England wins the Champions League is -715 and the odds for Spain is +400.

Thus far in the competition, last season’s top goal scorer Robert Lewandowski is favored to come out on top again despite Bayern Munich not advancing to the semifinals. He scores an average of 1.11 goals every 90 minutes with 32 total goals so far this season, 13 of those being in the UEFA Champions League.

Among players still in the competition, Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema clinched 12 goals in the Champions League series, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah scored eight, and Manchester’s Riyad Mahrez scored six. Manchester City’s own Raheem Sterling secured a total of three goals in the Champions League.

Here are the odds for this year’s Champions League top goalscorers:

• Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) -139 
• Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) +100
• Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) +2000
• Riyad Mahrez (Manchester) +15000
• Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) +20000 

What comes after the Champions League semifinals Leg 1?

Champions League semifinals (second legs): 

• Villarreal vs. Liverpool: Tuesday, May 3 at 3 p.m. ET
• Real Madrid vs. Manchester City: Wednesday, May 4 at 3 p.m. ET

Champions League Final: May 28

Editor's note: PointsBet is NBC Sports Official Sports Betting Partner, and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.