The 10-time European champions take on the Premier League side, who have reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time, and the coach insists it will be a tough tie

Zinedine Zidane feels Real Madrid are the favourites in their Champions League semi-final tie with Manchester City, but has warned the Premier League side should not be taken lightly.

The two sides were paired together in Friday's draw in Nyon, while Atletico Madrid were handed a tough fixture against Bayern Munich in the other tie.

Zidane's charges almost missed out on a place in the last four to Wolfsburg in the quarter-finals, having lost 2-0 to the German side in the first-leg, but a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick in the return match turned things around for the 10-time European champions.

Although the coach feels his side have the upper hand, that close call has him worried ahead of the meeting with City, as he insists his side must learn from their mistakes.

"Real Madrid are always the favourites and that's no different in the semi-final against Manchester City," Zidane said at a media conference.

"But City are a great team. I do not want to hear people say Manchester City will be an easy opponent. People also said Wolfsburg were not a strong team and we saw what happened.

"I see City as a strong opponent, just like Roma and Wolfsburg were difficult rivals.

"The positive thing is that we play the return at home. It will be a balanced tie."

Both sides last met in the group stages in 2012-13, when Madrid scored two late goals to beat City on matchday one, while the game in Manchester finished 1-1.

The first leg of this season's encounter is scheduled to take place at the Etihad Stadium on April 26.