Tonight's semi-final action sees defending Champions Real Madrid continue their search for a third straight Champions League title when they travel to Bayern Munich. Never an easy task against the Bavarians, who wrapped up their sixth straight German Bundesliga with five games to go. Despite a season which has seen them lag behind La Liga champs elect Barcelona, Zinedine Zidane's men are confident they can stay on course and make history come the final in Kiev next month. Mike Fox explains why.

Third place in La Liga is far from the high standards set by the Real Madrid board, but if Zinedine Zidane can make Los Blancos European champions for a third time in a row then the poor performance in the League will seem like a distant memory. For the Bayern clash at the Allianz, they welcome back captain Sergio Ramos from suspension while defender Nacho is back training after a hamstring knock. The side from Spain's capital have defeated their German counterparts in their last five matches with star man Cristiano Ronaldo in hot form in the competition after netting 17 in his last 11.

ZINEDINE ZIDANE REAL MADRID COACH "We all know how important Cristiano Ronaldo is for the team. We know what he is capable of, and I hope he is going to play a good game tomorrow. We are playing in the semi-finals. We are first thinking about playing well here rather than winning the Champions League, because we are facing a team with a great history too."

Bayern have star men of their own. Forward Robert Lewandowski has scored 39 times in 43 appearances in all competitions this season and is a tough proposition for any defense in the world. Besides the continued absence of Manual Neuer, Kingsley Common and Arturo Vidal, the Bavarians have no new injury concerns for the clash. Coach Jupp Heynckes, who managed Real between 1997 and 1998 for a brief time, takes charge of Bayern at home in Europe for the last time after deciding not to extend his contract. The 72-year-old hopes to leave the club with their first champions league triumph since 2013 when he was the boss.

JUPP HEYNCKES BAYERN MUNICH COACH The teams I have coached so far such as Real Madrid, had an unconditional will to win the Champions League. It was also the same in 2013. We are in a similar situation right now. We want to enter the final. But on the other side stands an opponent who wants to prevent that."

At this stage in the UEFA Champions League, its inevitable two heavyweights will always clash and while their domestic season's have been different in terms of success, both sides understand their path to the final is being blocked by Europe's finest. Mike Fox CGTN.