Manchester City play in the last four of the Champions League for the first time on Tuesday but find 10-time winners Real Madrid standing between them and a place in the final.
Manuel Pellegrini's preference would have been to play the first leg of their tie with the Spanish side at the Bernabeu but must make do with a home match instead.
The teams' only previous competitive meetings were in the group stage of the 2012/13 competition, with City leading twice in the first game before losing 3-2 to a stoppage-time winner from Cristiano Ronaldo.
They fared better in the return fixture, coming back to draw 1-1 thanks to Sergio Aguero's penalty after an opening goal from Karim Benzema.
Having won against Sevilla, Borussia Monchengladbach, Dynamo Kiev and PSG this season, City have shown they are more streetwise in European ties than before.
Ominously for Manuel Pellegrini's side, Real have won seven of the 11 knockout ties they have played against English teams.
For City to reach the final in Milan, they will have to beat a Spanish side over two games for the first time in nearly 50 years, having last achieved that against Athletic Bilbao in the 1969/70 season.
Pellegrini was in charge of Real for the 2009/10 campaign only to be sacked but said: "I don't look back.
"I always prefer to think about what is happening now. It's very important to reach the final because it reflects the work we are doing."
Team news
City's Yaya Toure is out of the match because of a thigh injury suffered during Saturday's 4-0 defeat of Stoke in the Premier League.
The former Barcelona midfielder had only recently overcome a heel problem and while he had not been certain to start against the Spaniards, his absence is a setback.
Samir Nasri is the only other injured player in Pellegrini's pool but he has not been registered to play in this stage of the competition so would have been missing even if he was fit.
City captain Vincent Kompany - another player who has had injury issues this season - should return along with his fellow Belgian Kevin De Bruyne after they were both rested at the weekend.
Real Madrid forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema should both be fit to start at the Etihad.
Ronaldo did not feature in the win over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga at the weekend after pulling up with a muscle problem in the midweek victory over Villarreal.
Benzema limped off during the Vallecano victory with an apparent hamstring problem but Zidane says both should be "100 per cent" to face City.
Opta stats
Real Madrid are unbeaten in their last eight games against English sides in the Champions League (W6 D2). The last English team to knock Real out in the competition were Liverpool in 2008/09 (5-0 on aggregate in the last 16).
Manchester City have only kept one clean sheet in their 10 Champions League games against Spanish opposition, a 3-0 away win against Villarreal in November 2011.
Six of Manchester City's last nine shots on target in the Champions League have found the back of the net.
City have scored more goals in the final 15 minutes than any other team in the Champions League this season (7).
Pellegrini's team are the only side left in the semi-finals who have averaged under 50% possession in the Champions League this season (48.6%).
Real Madrid have reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in each of the last six seasons, the longest current run. It's also their 27th appearance in the final four of the Champions League and European Cup, more than any other team.
Real Madrid have won only one of their last four away games in the Champions League knockout stages (D1 L2) - against Roma in this season's last 16.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored or assisted 77% of Real Madrid's goals in this season's competition (20 out of 26). He's only one goal away from the Champions League record for most goals in a Champions League campaign, a record he currently holds (17 in 2013/14).
Ronaldo has also scored exactly twice as many goals (16 to 8) and had exactly twice as many shots (82 to 41) as any other player in this season's tournament.
Sergio Aguero has failed to score in his last three Champions League games, his longest drought in the competition since his run of five games without a goal between November 2011 and October 2012.
Nicholas' prediction
We're all on tenterhooks about Cristiano Ronaldo's fitness and if he plays, it can only be bad news for Manchester City as he's on a personal war to prove everyone wrong.
There's also the whole Manchester thing as he returns to the city where he really came to prominence - and he'll have been riled up by seeing Barcelona's Luis Suarez overtake him in the scoring charts.
I know Gareth Bale scored two at the weekend and Karim Benzema has been good in good form but a lot hinges on Ronaldo's fitness and, with no disrespect to him, I hope he does miss it because it would give City a chance here. That would give City the belief that they can establish a good lead with Sergio Aguero's good form against a frail and overrated Madrid defence.
Then the big question is what Manuel Pellegrini does with the three behind Aguero. David Silva and Yaya Toure, if fit, haven't been in good form but they're big-time players. Kevin De Bruyne has to play and I would have said drop Silva and play Toure, but it's looking like he'll miss out, so it's between Raheem Sterling and Jesus Navas to provide the width.
I think both teams will score, but I just feel that this could be Manchester City's night if Aguero can get at a rash and overly aggressive Madrid defence. I think both he and De Bruyne will find the target in a magical night at the Etihad Stadium.
Charlie predicts: 3-1 and Aguero to score first (66/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
Manchester City are up against odds of 2/1 to establish a first-leg lead, with Real Madrid 7/5 favourites while a draw is priced at 5/2. Manuel Pellegrini's men are also outsiders in the outright at 15/2, with Bayern Munich heading the betting at 6/4 followed by City's visitors at 7/4.
Subject to fitness, Cristiano Ronaldo heads the first goalscorer betting at 7/2 followed by Sergio Aguero at 4/1, while Aguero and Gareth Bale both to score is enhanced from 5/1 to 7/1 in Sky Bet's Price Boosts.