In the Champions League quarterfinals, Manchester City will take on 14-time champion Real Madrid, while Arsenal will play Bayern Munich.
In the first leg, the Arsenal will play German team Bayern, who are led by England captain Harry Kane, at Emirates Stadium.
In the meantime, City, the champion team from the previous year, has faced Real in the knockout stages for the third straight season.
The first two legs are scheduled for April 9–10 and April 16–17, respectively.
On April 9, City and Arsenal will play their first-leg matches. Pep Guardiola’s team will host Bayern at the Bernabeu, while the Gunners will play at home against Bayern.
The two Premier League teams will play each other in the semifinals on April 17 after the return matches.
The other matches pit five-time winners Barcelona against French champions Paris St-Germain and fourth-place finishers Atletico Madrid against German rivals Borussia Dortmund.
The second legs of the semifinals will take place on May 7-8, one week after the first legs on April 30 and May 1.
On Saturday, June 1, this year’s final will take place at Wembley Stadium.
Quarter-finals draw
Arsenal v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v Borussia Dortmund
Paris St-Germain v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Manchester City
Semi-finals draw
Atletico Madrid or Borussia Dortmund v Paris St-Germain or Barcelona
Arsenal or Bayern Munich v Real Madrid or Manchester City
Tuesday at the Emirates, Arsenal defeated Porto in a nail-biting penalty shootout to go to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2010.
Since leaving Tottenham for the Bundesliga winners last summer, Kane, a 30-year-old striker, has scored 30 goals in 25 league games so far this season.
The Gunners lost both of their legs of their last-16 matchup in the 2016–17 competition, falling short of Bayern 10–2 on aggregate. Having won the home tie 2-0, they were also defeated 5-1 in the competition’s group stage the previous season.
Following fireworks that were fired off and thrown onto the field during Bayern’s last-16 encounter against Lazio earlier this month, the team will not be allowed to have its supporters at the Emirates.
In the round of 16, City easily defeated Danish champions Copenhagen 6-2 overall to secure a spot in the eighth consecutive last eight.
In the previous year’s semi-finals, Pep Guardiola’s Treble champions thoroughly outclassed Real Madrid, defeating Carlo Ancelotti’s team 5-1 on aggregate. Real defeated them 6-5 over two legs in the semi-final of the previous season.
(BBC)
