Bayern Munich v Real Madrid: Champions League, semi-final, first ...

4 min: Bellingham tries to switch play from right to left with a first-time speculative hoof. Rodrygo can’t latch onto the ball and Kimmich tidies up. A nice open start to this semi-final.

2 min: Real reply to that early concern with a period of nerve-settling possession. They ping it around and eventually Bellingham is caught offside.

41 sec: A huge chance for Bayern! Sane is released into the Real box down the inside-left channel by Kane. It’s a tight-ish angle, but Sane only has Lunin to beat. He hits his shot straight at the keeper. What a start that could have been!

“Let’s go boys!” Jude Bellingham shouts to his team-mates as he claps some encouragement before Bayern kick off.

The teams are out! Bayern play in their red and white, forcing Real into their dark-blue change strip. A fine couple-of-cold-steins-in atmosphere of anticipation at the Fußball Arena München, as Uefa insist we call the Allianz Arena. It glows red in the Bavarian night. A huge banner celebrating the late, great Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer. We’ll be off after a quick blast of Zadok the Priest (Version).

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Pre-match postbag. “I was never a Spurs fan but I was a huge Harry Kane fan. I was so happy for Kane when he left. Finally he would win League silverware with Bayern, he would escape all the Spurs management melodrama. So of course, Bayern loses the Bundesliga crown, and management melodrama erupts. So I am hoping Kane can drive Bayern to a Champions league title, good ol’ Harry deserves it” – Mary Waltz

“Initially, I was quite conflicted on this match-up. I don’t like either team, but one of them has to go through. So what do I do? After a good hard think about it (OK, maybe five minutes), I’ve come to a conclusion. As much as I would enjoy Harry Kane not winning anything this season, I can never forgive that Sergio Ramos armlock which dislocated Salah’s shoulder, or his subsequent elbow that concussed Karius in the 2018 Final. Ramos is gone, but he’s got a suitably dirty replacement in Dani Carvajal. I know it is naive and unlikely, but I want Real Madrid to never win anything ever again. Am I still bitter? Maybe” – Joe Pearson

“To your point that this is an old-styley European Cup semifinal: it has been said that the upstart result of the much lamented Cup Winners’ Cup in 1983 prompted the elite clubs of Europe to lobby Uefa successfully to start the so-called Champions League in the first place. Of course, as you know, in that year the cup winners of the Cup Winners’ Cup defeated both Bayern and Real. In a parallel universe, 41 years on, the winner of tonight’s tie will face Aberdeen. Ach well. What went wrong? With Aberdeen? And with fitba in general?” – Donald Phillips

“‘It’s on’ in Spanish would be better translated as ‘Está en marcha’” – Jorge Oróstica

“‘Ist Zustand’ is nonsense. You want something like ‘Jetzt geht’s los!’” – Eric Schwab

“Dear Google Translate, you are sacked” – The Guardian

Bayern and Real have played each other 26 times before, every single fixture coming in the European Cup. Fourteen of those matches have been at the semi-final stage, so this is a summit meeting between royalty, all right. Bayern have four aggregate semi-final victories to Real’s three, but the Spaniards have won the last two ties. The most recent meeting was the 2017-18 semi, when Madrid won 4-3 on aggregate. Bayern’s record at home against Real is W9 D1 L3 F26 A18.

Bayern Munich make three changes to the team that started last Saturday’s 2-1 Bundesliga win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Leroy Sané, Jamal Musiala and Minjae Kim take the places of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Raphaël Guerreiro, who drop to the bench, and the injured Matthijs de Ligt. Harry Kane leads the line.

Real Madrid made wholesale changes to their side for last Friday’s 1-0 La Liga win at Real Sociedad, to the extent that only two of their starters in that match keep their place. Aurélien Tchouameni and captain Nacho are the lucky men. Thibaut Courtois, a long-term absentee after rupturing his ACL last August, returns and is on the bench. Jude Bellingham faces his England colleagues Kane and Eric Dier.

Bayern Munich: Neuer, Kimmich, Kim, Dier, Mazraoui, Laimer, Goretzka, Sane, Muller, Musiala, Kane.Subs: Upamecano, Gnabry, Choupo-Moting, Zaragoza, Peretz, Davies, Guerreiro, Ulreich, Tel, Pavlovic.

Real Madrid: Lunin, Lucas, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy, Valverde, Tchouameni, Kroos, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior.Subs: Courtois, Eder Militao, Modric, Camavinga, Joselu, Ceballos, Garcia, Diaz, Guler, Arrizabalaga.

Referee: Clement Turpin (France)

Welcome to our coverage of Arsenal v Manchester City Bayern Munich v Real Madrid. Shame, shame, shame on the Premier League, though with genuine apologies to fans of the aforementioned English clubs, who are free to demur … this sounds more like an old-school European Cup semi-final, doesn’t it? Hey, we don’t write the rules. Kick-off is at 8pm BST. Ist Zustand! ¡Esta encendido! It’s on!