The business end of the UEFA Champions League season is officially here, with two star-studded semifinals set to begin this week.
The final four of the Champions League starts on Tuesday with Bayern Munich hosting Real Madrid in a faceoff between some high-profile attackers. Harry Kane has been the brightest spot in Bayern’s season, including their European run that keeps their hopes of avoiding their first trophyless season in a decade alive. Bayern’s shaky back line, though, will have a lot to handle with the likes of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham on staff for Real Madrid.
A day later, Borussia Dortmund play their first Champions League semifinal in 11 years, but have a big task ahead of them with Kylian Mbappe’s Paris Saint-Germain in town. PSG’s farewell tour has surprisingly not been centered around the World Cup runner with the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha playing a big role in their quarterfinal triumph over Barcelona. They are definitely not a one-man team, which makes them a big favorite to make it to the final.
Here’s what you need to know before the big games, including picks from experts across the CBS Sports team.
Don’t miss all of the Champions League storylines, and as always you can catch all of our coverage across CBS, Paramount+, CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network all season long.
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Here’s how to watch all the games, what to know, our expert picks and more:
Semifinals TV schedule
All times U.S./Eastern
Don’t miss CBS Sports Golazo Network’s Morning Footy, now in podcast form! Our crew brings you all the news, views, highlights and laughs you need to follow the Beautiful Game in every corner of the globe, every Monday-Friday all year long.
Champions League semifinal picks
Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid
By Pardeep Cattry
One matchup to watch: Matthijs de Ligt and Eric Dier vs. Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo – A world-class attack is arguably Real Madrid’s most obvious strength, while a porous defense is Bayern’s most glaring weakness. It could be as stark a contrast as it gets and so the big question of this game is: Can Bayern resist this skilled attacking unit, or will it finally cost them in Europe, much as it has in domestic play this season?
Most likely to score a goal: Harry Kane – It can be hard to pick one goalscorer from Real Madrid’s group since La Liga’s leaders do a good job of splitting up responsibilities, but Bayern’s main man has been Harry Kane all season. He rarely goes goalless, to the point that he has 42 goals in 42 games this season. Even if things go south for Bayern, expect him to keep them alive in the tie – even if their hopes are relatively small.
Man of the Match pick: Vinicius Junior – The Brazilian has been in fine form this season, contributing with both goals and assists in big numbers. Expect him to be one of the main men in this fixture, too, especially against a Bayern team with defensive weaknesses.
Match prediction: Bayern Munich 1, Real Madrid 2 – Harry Kane is probably good for a goal but this game is Real Madrid’s to lose. Los Blancos have been imperfect throughout this season but get away with it each and every time because of their immense quality all over the pitch. As the new favorites to win the whole thing, it seems they have all the tools to come out of this one with a win – regardless of how well they execute a game plan.
Don’t miss CBS Sports Golazo Network’s Morning Footy, now in podcast form! Our crew brings you all the news, views, highlights and laughs you need to follow the Beautiful Game in every corner of the globe, every Monday-Friday all year long.
Borussia Dortmund vs. PSG
By Jonathan Johnson
One matchup to watch: Julian Brandt vs. Warren Zaire-Emery — In terms of both sides’ midfields, these two are the creative fulcrums of their respective sides with the Frenchman bringing a more stabilizing impact for Luis Enrique’s men. Having just celebrated his long-term contract extension, Zaire-Emery will be keen to build on the goal he scored in Germany in the group stage. As for Brandt, he scored one of Dortmund’s four goals at home to Atletico Madrid last time out despite not being terribly prolific in 2024 with almost three times as many assists as goals. Watching these two schemers over 180 minutes in the next two rounds of games will be enjoyable viewing.
Most likely to score a goal: Ousmane Dembele — Normally nailed on to be Kylian Mbappe, his French teammate for club and country has suddenly hit a prolific run of form which saw him score in either leg against Barcelona as well as a pair of goals against Lorient. Given how Dembele had no issues whatsoever coming back to haunt Barca, he must be licking his lips at the prospect of doing the same to Dortmund. Also note that he was suspended for the trip to Germany in the group stage so this is the first chance he is getting at a Signal Iduna Park pantomime villain act.
Man of the Match pick: Vitinha — Integral for PSG over both legs vs. Barca and of increasing importance overall, expect the Portuguese maestro to be influential again both home and away against Dortmund. Vitinha’s goal threat will also make Dembele’s deployment either out wide or more central particularly interesting.
Match prediction: Dortmund 1-2 PSG — Over their two meetings so far this season, PSG lead 3-1 thanks to their 2-0 home win back in the first round of group games. Another 1-1 draw would do for the French champions here but Luis Enrique will want more and Les Parisiens are generally good on the road. Recall that PSG overcame Dortmund en route to the UCL final in 2020 and successfully navigating the opening leg against the Germans should present a great opportunity next week to seal a return to the final four years on.
