Four teams remain in the hunt to lift the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League trophy and ITV and Sky Sports will share live coverage of both semi-finals.
Chelsea fly the flag as England’s representatives once again in the last four as they face Atletico Madrid for a place in next month’s final in Lisbon, while the other semi-final sees European heavyweights Real Madrid and Bayern Munich face-off for the right to play in Portugal on May 24.
ITV will screen live free-to-air coverage of the first leg between Atletico and Chelsea, followed a week later by the second leg of Bayern Munich against Real Madrid, while Sky Sports will screen the reverse fixtures, including the vital home second leg of the Blues’ semi-final tie at Stamford Bridge.
Jose Mourinho’s men will be hoping to guarantee their place in the coveted final by vanquishing the thrilling underdogs Atletico.
Chelsea’s manager faces a big task on his return to the Spanish capital against an Atletico side that defeated Barcelona in the last round, and who have been leading the race for the La Liga title for the past few weeks.
The Blues must first navigate their way through a tricky first leg at the Vicente Calderon and all eyes will be on Thibaut Courtois and Diego Costa.
Goalkeeper Courtois is on loan at Atletico from Chelsea and the furore regarding his eligibility for this tie is sure to rage on for a while yet.
The Belgian has established himself as one of the world’s top ‘keepers and the backdrop of his long-term future in London will provide a storyline regardless of his presence on the pitch.
Diego Costa, meanwhile, has netted 26 goals in 31 La Liga matches to fire Atletico to top of the league. He is thought to be on Chelsea’s summer wish-list but could first eliminate them from this year’s Champions League.
European heavyweights Real Madrid and Bayern Munich will also clash in a mouth-watering tie and Sky Sports will show the first leg in Spain on Wednesday 23 April, with second leg a week later on ITV.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Arjen Robben will be showcased as two elite clubs do battle for a place in the final.
No team has ever won the Champions League trophy in successive seasons, but Pep Guardiola’s Bayern remain on course to achieve that feat if they can overcome Real Madrid.
Real Madrid will be hoping to tighten up on the defensive frailities they showed in their last visit to Germany in their quarter final against Dortmund and that star man Ronaldo is firing on all cylinders after his recent injury.
With the cherished Champions League trophy at stake, who will make it through to next month’s showpiece European final in Lisbon?
ITV and Sky Sports will be the places to catch these two colossal matches as one of the best Champions League seasons of recent times approaches its conclusion.
ITV’s coverage of both its live semi-final ties will be presented by Adrian Chiles alongside studio pundits Roy Keane and Lee Dixon, with commentary from Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend.
Highlights of both Tuesday night’s semi-finals will be shown after the news on ITV, while live streaming and updates can be found via itv.com/football.
On Sky Sports, Jeff Stelling will introduce live coverage of its semi-final clashes where he will be joined by a variety of guests to analyse the action, including Gary Neville, Jamie Redknapp and others.
Watch all of Sky Sports’ live coverage on the move via Sky Go or follow online via skysports.com.
The European action continues on Thursday nights as the UEFA Europa League also reaches the semi-final stages as the remaining four teams are just two games away from the final in Turin in May.
ITV Sport will be broadcasting both legs from the two semi-finals exclusively live with the pick of the live first and second leg ties on ITV4, while the other semi-final will be broadcast online via itv.com/football.
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