Twelve months on from an extraordinary Champions League semi-final tie, holders Real Madrid will host a Manchester City outfit still seeking their maiden European honour in Tuesday's first leg at the Bernabeu.
Carlo Ancelotti's men ran out 6-5 winners over two legs against the Citizens last year thanks to a stunning comeback in the Spanish capital, and their route to the final four this year was a far simpler affair, strolling past Chelsea 4-0 on aggregate.
Meanwhile, Man City handed Thomas Tuchel a baptism of fire at Bayern Munich, dumping the Bundesliga champions out 4-1 in the quarter-finals thanks to a 3-0 win at the Etihad before a 1-1 draw on the Bavarians' turf.
Both sides will resume their quests for European glory on the back of 2-1 wins at the weekend, as Real Madrid defeated Osasuna in the final of the Copa del Rey, while Manchester City extended their lead at the Premier League summit by seeing off Leeds United.
With a vast array of talent on display at both ends of the field, Sports Mole picks a combined XI from both squads, using only players expected to be available for the showdown.
Thibaut Courtois's nine-save display in last year's Champions League final will go down in history, and the Belgian has continued to stake his claim as the best in the world since. Keeping clean sheets in each of his last three Champions League games, Courtois has also prevented a total of 9.9 goals since the start of last season's Champions League, while Ederson has conceded 16 times from 13.8 xG, so the Real Madrid man was a straightforward selection.
With Dani Carvajal consistently struggling with injuries and Lucas Vazquez not setting the world alight, it was a toss-up between John Stones and Kyle Walker for the right-back spot. While Walker's pace could come in handy against Vinicius Junior, Stones is thriving in his inverted role - coming up with an assist against Bayern Munich - and he gets the nod for us. On the other side of the pitch, injuries to Nathan Ake and Ferland Mendy leave David Alaba as the obvious pick. The Austrian may have reverted to a central role in recent years, but he has still been utilised on the left by Ancelotti this term when needed - scoring from that position against Almeria back in August - and he edges out Eduardo Camavinga, who may very well start in that role on Tuesday night.
Eder Militao's suspension means that the Brazilian, who would have otherwise walked into this XI, is not considered for selection this time around. In his place, Ruben Dias - who was briefly consigned to the bench after a hamstring injury - has regained his rightful spot in Pep Guardiola's team to contribute to City's mesmerising recent run, playing the full 90 in each of his side's last six Champions League contest. Perhaps the toughest selection of our team came next to the Portuguese, as with no Militao in the debate, it was a close-run affair between Manuel Akanji and Antonio Rudiger. The City man boasts a slightly better pass completion percentage this term (93.3% compared to Akanji's 92.2%), but he was at fault for Leeds' goal at the weekend, and Rudiger pips his counterpart to the final spot in our rearguard.
Advancing further up the field, Aurelien Tchouameni has not enjoyed the brightest of debut seasons for Real Madrid, in stark comparison to Rodri's wonderful campaign. While being trusted to execute his defensive duties with aplomb, Rodri has chipped in at the other end with three goals and seven assists in 49 games this term, and 253 progressive passes is more than any other player in the Premier League.
Either side of the Spaniard lie two more pass masters, the first of whom has set up a whopping 27 goals in all competitions during the current campaign. With 18 Premier League assists under his belt, Kevin De Bruyne has unsurprisingly set up more goals than any other player in the top five European leagues this season, while he also sits top of the charts for shot-creating actions per 90 with 6.67. Nine strikes of his own - including one in the 7-0 demolition of RB Leipzig - is not bad going either.
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Having recovered from a hamstring problem in time to make the bench against Osasuna, timeless veteran Luka Modric should be passed fit to start at the Bernabeu on Tuesday, and despite his advancing years, his excellence continues to shine through. The 37-year-old's powers may slowly be fading, but six goals and six assists from 43 games this season is a respectable return, and if recent reports regarding his contract situation are to be believed, Blancos fans can look forward to cheering on the Croatian for another year.
Scorer of the winner in last year's final, Vinicius Junior was hailed as the best in the world in his position by Florentino Perez after Saturday's cup triumph, and it is easy to see why. Boasting a remarkable 22 goals and 21 assists in all tournaments this term, the 22-year-old has also scored or assisted in each of his last 10 Champions League starts - only Cristiano Ronaldo has ever done so 11 times in a row - and he was a simple pick over Jack Grealish, despite the England international's marked improvement.
While Vinicius's statistics in front of goal are impressive, they are dwarfed by our final two attackers, who would form one of the deadliest strike partnerships to ever grace the field should they ever end up on the same team. Injuries may have hampered Karim Benzema's 2022-23 campaign, but the Ballon d'Or winner has still netted 29 times in 38 games - including four in his last four Champions League outings - to prove that there is plenty of life, and goals, left in his 35-year-old legs.
Onto the man who was and is still being tipped to eventually succeed Benzema at the Bernabeu, where do we even start with City's scintillating Scandinavian Erling Braut Haaland? From breaking the single-season Premier League record with 35 top-flight strikes, leading the way in the 2022-23 Champions League with 12 goals and already surpassing the half-century mark in all tournaments, Haaland has emphatically shot down frivolous claims that Man City are a worse team with him in the XI, although he may want to consider a change of boots for Tuesday's game after experiencing a rare off-day in front of goal against his hometown club at the weekend.
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Ben Knapton
