Welcome to live coverage of the Champions League match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

Five minutes to go, and the atmosphere in my living room is electric. I can only imagine its slightly more exciting in the ground, but I wouldn't be so sure.

This game is huge. It is massive. It is big. It is enormous. It is not only large, it is dense. It has its own force of gravity, and is denser than dark matter. It is denser - even - than the editors of The New Statesman. This staggering match is just 15 minutes away, and if you would like to tell me your predictions you can do so on Twitter at @lxndrnthrtn.

Tactics are more important than life itself, so praise be to the Bayern Munich Twitter account for writing down the formations in a graphical layout. A touch of class.

Poor old Carlo. For such an excellent picker of jobs, he's been slightly blindsided by the rise of Atletico. Barcelona have fallen below the necessary level, but Atletico have done surprisingly well in both the Champions League and La Liga. It would be fairly amusing if Atletico end up denying Madrid in one or both of the trophies. It might even lead to Ancelotti looking for a new job this summer - United have a job going.

Carlo Ancelotti: "For this club this is a very important competition, especially because if we win this season the club will have 10 European Cups. It would be something special for everyone. And the sooner it is achieved the better. If we could get it in my first year here it would be amazing. We have to try to win another trophy, either the League or the Champions League. After three semi-finals I think Real Madrid deserves to play a final."

Guardiola obviously doesn't remember AC Milan vs Juventus in the Champions League, where Juventus and AC Milan (under Carlo Ancelotti) played out the most grim football ever recorded. In fact, it was so awful there is no report, just a footnote, and the footnote is of a crowd of football supporters crying. It is entirely possible that Madrid will play for a draw, but when you have Bale and Ronaldo, it makes it often easier to score than not.

Pep Guardiola: "Franck [Ribery] played like he was possessed at the weekend. He fights and fights and for this reason the people love him here at the Allianz Arena. He is one of the best players in the history of Bayern Munich and we need his help. I really can't imagine them playing for that result [a draw] for the full 90 minutes. They don't have the mentality just to stick men behind the ball and defend."

TEAMS: Bayern Munich: Neuer, Dante, Boateng, Lahm, Alaba, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Ribery, Robben, Muller, Mandzukic. Subs: Raeder, van Buyten, Martinez, Rafinha, Pizzaro, Gotze, Hojbjerg. /// Real Madrid: Casillas, Pepe, Ramos, Coentrao, Carvajal, Alonso, Modric, Bale, Ronaldo, Di Maria, Benzema. Subs: Lopez, Varane, Marcelo, Casemiro, Morata, Isco, Illarra.