Cautious Madrid face bullish Bayern

Carlo Ancelotti set out a cautious approach for a Real Madrid CF team hoping to have Cristiano Ronaldo fit, and FC Bayern München's Josep Guardiola keen to face him.

Real Madrid CF must be compact defensively and "take control" of their home encounter with FC Bayern München if they are to lay a platform to reach the UEFA Champions League final for the first time since 2002.Above all Madrid coach carlo Ancelotti is seeking a balance between trying to establish a lead to take to Bavaria next Tuesday and remaining vigilant at the back in the first leg of the sixth European Cup semi-final between the teams. Josep Guardiola is hopeful that injury doubt Cristiano Ronaldo will play for a side he knows very well from his time at FC Barcelona, though he described that as "another club at another time and in another situation."
Team newsCristiano Ronaldo, out with knee and hamstring problems since 2 April, will undergo a fitness test on Wednesday. "If he is well he'll play, but if there is a risk of a relapse he won't," said Ancelotti. Bale has recovered from the flu while Marcelo, who has been sidelined with hamstring trouble, "is not 100%". He will start on the bench, with Fábio Coentrão starting. Álvaro Arbeloa and Jesé Rodríguez are out with knee injuries
BayernJosep Guardiola, coach
I'm always very happy to play a Champions League semi-final and come to Madrid with a team like Bayern. We need to play well and get a result.
My stats at the Bernabéu were with another club at another time and in another situation. It has nothing to do with Bayern. If we win we will have to put on a very good performance. Madrid are always special, with this coach or another, with these players or with others. They are the toughest of opponents who are always lurking in the semi-finals. They have a great coaching staff.
I hope [Ronaldo] plays. We play for people who want to see the best. He is among the best. If he doesn't play, they play in a different way. They can play 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, as in the Copa del Rey final.
Cristiano is a goalscorer, Isco gives you more control and possession, [Karim] Benzema gives you stability, [Sergio] Ramos, Xabi [Alonso] and [Luka] Modrić can play the ball from the back ... and with Bale, Cristiano, [Ángel] di María and Benzema, they can kill with space. We'll try to attack and defend as we always do.
It is very difficult to win the Champions League. The great teams are always here. I'm very proud of my team. We won the Bundesliga in March, we are in the [German] Cup final and in the semi-finals of the Champions League. It's not easy and we've won games playing well. We have been consistent, though down a bit recently, but I'm happy with the last game because we did not play well, but recovered our team spirit.
Team newsDavid Alaba was unavailable at the weekend due to illness, while Thiago Alcántara (knee), Diego Contento (foot) and Xherdan Shaqiri (thigh) will not feature in the Spanish capital. Manuel Neuer missed the weekend game with a calf injury but is optimistic of facing Madrid. Lukas Raeder filled in for Neuer on Saturday as Tom Starke was out with an elbow injury.
Match factThe sides have met in five European Cup semi-finals with Bayern prevailing in 1976, 1987, 2001 and 2012; Madrid's sole win came in 2000.