Former Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster has branded holders Bayern Munich "uninspired and dreary" ahead of their Champions League semi-final clash with the Spanish giants in a little over a fortnight.

"What Bayern have recently offered in the Bundesliga and against Manchester United was uninspired and so dreary," Schuster, who coached Real from 1988-1990, told German daily Bild.

European champions Bayern won this season's Bundesliga title with a record seven games to spare last month and beat United 3-1 on Wednesday in the Champions League quarter-final, second leg tie to progress 4-2 on aggregate.

Bayern will face Real at Madrid's Bernabeu stadium on April 23 with the second-leg at Munich's Allianz Arena on April 29.

Schuster said the absence of Bayern's play-maker Thiago Alcantara through injury has weakened their passing game and the 54-year-old rates Munich's chances as "50-50" against Madrid.

Bayern are too reliant on their short-passing game, according to Schuster.

"When it works, everything is wonderful, but woeful when it doesn't," said the German.

The key battle when Bayern face Madrid will be in midfield, according to Schuster, with the likes of Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mario Goetze and Thomas Mueller up against Real's Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso and Gareth Bale.