“There appears to be little that can stop Real Madrid at the moment,” claims Marca.
“Alongside crushing wins over Eibar and Getafe in recent weeks, Real won despite two goal deficits against Wolfsburg, in the European quarter-finals, and most recently against Rayo Vallecano as they kept up their title fight in the Primera Division.
El Madrid en Champions, Bailly, las ofertas por Neymar... #LasPortadas del día https://t.co/6mOL4D2v51 pic.twitter.com/HJwfOgd62A
— MARCA (@marca) April 26, 2016
“Travelling to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, Real have notched 15 goals in their last six away games, although conceding seven in the same period will give the Citizens confidence of their own.
“While out of the Premier League title race for good, City have just the Champions League left to cling onto, representing Manuel Pellegrini’s last chance for glory before exiting Lancashire for Pep Guardiola’s tenure to begin in the summer.”
We’ll let that geographical slip go and take a look at AS.com, where Alfredo Relano reckons Zinedine Zidane’s men are in for a real battle.
“The City of Pellegrini, Agüero, Silva, Navas and Co. await Real in what’ll be a tough test; tougher than Wolfsburg, where they were sent packing with a bad result that they then fought back from for a cracking remontada (translation=recovery).
“So they go to the Etihad with plenty of warning, aware their strength is also their shortcoming: a fantastic forward trio who pack a fearsome punch in front of goal, but - barring exceptional cases - aren’t given to tracking back.
“Not so long ago, the problem was more serious as, on top of that, the three behind them were all attacking by trade. Now, with a natural midfield anchor in there in Casemiro, the issue has been assuaged somewhat.”
Goal.com boast an exclusive interview with ex-Real goalkeeper Albano Bizzarri, who is of similar mind: “It will not be easy. The quarter-finals have already shown that nothing can be taken for granted in this competition.
“It’s clear that Real are favourites because they are more used to playing these kind of games and in these cases, experience counts.”
There’s plenty of Gareth Bale knocking about as well. Football Espana pick up on the Welshman’s praise for Zidane – “He’s doing an amazing job now. Hopefully he can replicate his playing career to his management,” while BBC Sport focus on his relationship with team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Gareth Bale insists there are no issues between him and his Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.
“‘We’ve said many times, both of us, that we get on fine, we get on well,’ said the Wales forward. ‘The media tries to create something that is not there.’”