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Champions League Predictions – Semi-final first legs

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Warren AshurstWarren Ashurst
Bayern Munich ace Harry Kane has already scored 12 times in the Champions League this season.
Bayern Munich ace Harry Kane has already scored 12 times in the Champions League this season.
  • PSG are the holders, having thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 in last season's final

  • Bayern Munich won 2-1 at PSG in the league phase of the competition

  • Atletico Madrid lost 4-0 at Arsenal in October's league phase meeting

We have reached the last four of the Champions League, with two epic semi-finals to look forward to over the next couple of weeks.

The first legs take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with defending champions PSG up against Bayern Munich and then Atletico Madrid hosting Arsenal.

A place in the final, in Budapest, is up for grabs with two of the teams looking to lift the European Cup for the very first time.

PSG vs Bayern Munich (Tuesday, 8pm)

PSG are looking to become the first team since Real Madrid, in 2016-17 and 2017-18, to win back-to-back Champions League titles.

Luis Enrique's men go into this showdown with Bayern Munich having seen off Liverpool 4-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.

It was Bayern, though, that won this fixture when the two teams met in the league phase, claiming a 2-1 success in the French capital back in November.

The teams are very evenly matched on paper, with both scoring 38 goals so far in this competition, while the stats show they both have a 90% passing accuracy this term.

Both teams picked up domestic victories at the weekend, with PSG winning 3-0 at Angers and Bayern fighting back from 3-0 down to beat Mainz 4-3.

The home side do have question marks over the fitness of Vitinha (heel issue) and Achraf Hakimi, who was taken off at half-time on Saturday.

Bayern will be missing forward Serge Gnabry, due to a thigh problem.

The absence of the former Arsenal man means the visitors will likely play with Luis Diaz, Harry Kane and Michael Olise as a potent front three.

Score Prediction: PSG 2-2 Bayern Munich

Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal (Wednesday, 8pm)

Atletico Madrid look to have been targeting this competition since the end of March, resting several key players for LaLiga matches over the last month.

Despite knocking out Barcelona in the last round, the hosts had failed to win any of their last four games prior to the weekend's 3-2 win over Athletic Bilbao.

Arsenal have also been on a poor run, but claimed a much-needed 1-0 Premier League success over Newcastle United on Saturday.

Goals continue to be a problem for Mikel Arteta's Gunners, who have not scored more than one goal in any of their last seven matches.

To compound that issue, the visitors could be without Kai Havertz for Wednesday's first leg, after the German was forced off at the weekend.

Atletico, who lost 4-0 at the Emirates earlier in the competition, also have to contend with fitness concerns, as midfielder Pablo Barrios has been ruled out of both legs.

Julian Alvarez looks like being their main threat again, with the former Manchester City man averaging 3.16 shots per game in this season's competition.

Score Prediction: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Arsenal

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Champions League Predictions – Semi-final first legs