Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream: How to watch Champions League semi-final, plus team news

Karim Benzema of Real Madrid and Phil Foden of Manchester City could both feature in the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream
(Image credit: Angel Martinez/Getty Images / Matt McNulty - Manchester City Manchester City FC via Getty Images)

The Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream could be another Champions League semi-final classic — and you can watch it from anywhere with a VPN.

Real Madrid vs Manchester City channel, start time

The Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream takes place today (Wednesday, May 4).
► Time: 8 p.m. BST /  3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT
• U.S. — Watch on Paramount Plus
U.K. — Watch on BT Sport
• Watch anywhere — try ExpressVPN 100% risk free

These two European heavyweights served up an incredible game when they met last week. It finished 4-3 to City, but both sides had other chances and the football was attacking and exciting throughout the 90 minutes.

Neutrals would be forgiven for hoping we get another 120 minutes of it in the second leg, which isn't impossible; there's no away goals rule now, so a Real Madrid win by a single goal would take it to extra time and then, possibly penalties.

Man City will be boosted by the return of defender Kyle Walker from injury, while Joao Cancelo is also back after suspension. But John Stones will miss out following a knock in the first leg, so Pep Guardiola has once again been forced to shuffle his backline. Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez also all play after sitting out the weekend win over Leeds. 

For Madrid, Casemiro returns to the midfield having missed the first leg, but full-back David Alaba is only fit enough for the bench. 

Here's how they line up: 

Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, Mendy, Casemiro, Modric, Kroos, Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius.

Manchester City: Ederson, Cancelo, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Rodri, Bernardo, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Foden, Jesus.

Real picked up their 35th La Liga at the weekend, while Man City are close to the Premier League title too. But both would probably prefer to add the Champions League to their trophy cabinet — so expect more thrilling, end-to-end action in Madrid today.

Who will win through to the final to meet Liverpool? Find out by watching the Manchester City vs Real Madrid live stream, wherever you are.

Plus, don't miss our full how to watch Champions League 21/22 hub for fixtures and more.

How to watch the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream wherever you are

The Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream will be shown on many different channels across the world, but what if you're not in your home country and want to watch it on your usual service?

The answer is to use a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN will let you tune into your home coverage from wherever you are — meaning that if you're abroad, you can use one of the best VPN services to watch the games live as if you were in your lounge.

Our favorite right now is ExpressVPN, thanks to its combination of superb speed, great customer service and excellent device support. It also offers a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee, so you could check it out without having to sign up long term.

ExpressVPN

Speed, security and simplicity combine to make ExpressVPN our favorite VPN service. In our testing, we were impressed by its fast connection times and by its ability to access more than 3,000 services in 160 locations across 94 countries. A 30-day money-back guarantee is another bonus.

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, ExpressVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.K. and want to view a U.S. service, you'd select U.S. from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to Paramount Plus or another service and watch the game.

Exclusive Tom's Guide Discount: Save 49% on the 12-month ExpressVPN plan

How to watch the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream in the US

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Soccer fans in the U.S. can watch the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream on Paramount Plus. Kick off is at 3 p.m. ET. / 12 p.m. PT.

If you're a subscriber but aren't in the U.S. right now, you can watch the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream live stream by using a VPN such as ExpressVPN.

Paramount Plus

Paramount Plus offers a library filled with content from the deep ViacomCBS vault. Get access to your local CBS live feed as well as exclusive access to UEFA Champions League. Binge Survivor and Big Brother episodes, as well as originals like Star Trek: Picard and The Good Fight. Check out the service with a 7-day free trial.

In other sporting news, the Canelo vs Bivol live stream is going to be one of the biggest events of the weekend.

How to watch the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream in the UK

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BT Sport has the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream in the U.K., and you can watch it on BT Sport 2HD and BT Sport Ultimate. The game kicks-off at 8 p.m. BST. 

Prices differ hugely depending on whether you already have BT TV and a BT broadband subscription. If you have both, you can add the Sports package for £15/month plus a £20 upfront fee, or go for the £40/month Big Sports package which also includes all of the Sky Sports channels, giving you a total of 160 live streams.

Another option for non-BT subscribers is the BT Sport Monthly Pass (£25), which lets you watch via an app for a fixed time and doesn't require a lengthy subscription.

All sounds great, right? But if you're not in the U.K., you can still follow the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream by using one of the best VPN services, such as ExpressVPN

How to watch the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream in Canada

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Canadians can watch the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream on DAZN

Sadly, DAZN no longer offers new customers a 30-day free-trial period, so you'll have to pay the $20 CAD per month fee, although you can save a little by buying annually ($150 CAD). DAZN, if you're unfamiliar, has apps on every single streaming platform there is.

Canadians stuck abroad that still want their low-price alternative can use a VPN such as ExpressVPN  to trick their streaming device to thinking it's back in the great white north.

How to watch the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream in Australia

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Aussies can watch the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream on Stan. The streaming service offers a 30-day free trial, after which subscriptions start at $10 AUD. To watch the Champions League 21/22 you'll also need to pay $10 for the Sports add-on — but this also includes a 7-day free trial

Stan users stuck abroad can use a VPN such as ExpressVPN to still access the service they already pay for.

How to watch the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream in New Zealand

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New Zealanders can watch the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream on Spark Sport. This costs $24.99 NZD per month, but there's currently a 7-day FREE trial so you can check it out and see how you like it.

Spark is available via web browsers plus loads of streaming devices including Chromecast and Apple TV, so there's no shortage of ways to watch it. And as well as the EPL action you also get cricket, NBA basketball, F1 racing and more.

Not at home in New Zealand right now? You can still follow every game by using one of the best VPN services, such as ExpressVPN

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Marc McLaren

Formerly Editor in Chief (U.K.) on Tom’s Guide, Marc oversaw all gaming, streaming, audio, TV, entertainment, how-to and cameras coverage, and was also responsible for the site’s U.K.-focused output. He is now U.K. Editor in Chief on TechRadar. Marc previously edited the tech website Stuff and has tested and written about phones, tablets, wearables, streaming boxes, smart home devices, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, games, TVs, cameras and much more. He also spent years on a music magazine, where his duties mainly involved spoiling other people’s fun, and on a car magazine. An avid photographer, he likes nothing better than taking pictures of very small things (bugs, his daughters) or very big things (distant galaxies). When he gets time, he also enjoys gaming (console and mobile), cycling and attempting to watch as much sport as any human can. He's also fallen in love with Wordle over the past six months and is the author of our today's Wordle answer column, in which he supplies hints and strategy tips for the mega-popular word game. Given he's completed every single Wordle so far and only lost once, and analyzed every Wordle answer in search of patterns, he's well qualified to help you safeguard your streak.