Sitting back and holding what they have will no doubt only end one way for a Man City side whose best form of defence is to attack, especially with Benzema and Vinicius Junior capable of plucking goals out of nowhere for the Spanish champions.
We say: Real Madrid 2-2 Manchester City (Man City win 6-5 on aggregate) Manchester City possible starting lineup:Įderson Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne Mahrez, Jesus, Foden Nathan Ake trudged off with a knock in the win over Leeds and will need to be assessed, and John Stones is also absent, so it could be another restless evening for Oleksandr Zinchenko on the left of the City defence.ĭe Bruyne, Silva and Riyad Mahrez are all primed to return to the first XI after being named among the substitutes at Elland Road, while Real's nemesis Gabriel Jesus prepares to spearhead the charge amid his hot streak of goalscoring form.Ĭourtois Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, Mendy Kroos, Casemiro, Modric Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr The likes of Benzema, Vinicius, Toni Kroos and Ferland Mendy were all benched at the weekend with this encounter in mind, and Rodrygo will hope to keep his place in the final third after starting in the first leg and bagging a brace against Espanyol.Īs far as Man City are concerned, Guardiola will welcome Joao Cancelo back with open arms following his first-leg suspension, and Kyle Walker will travel with the group despite his ankle injury. Isco has also missed out on a place in the squad due to illness. Real Madrid boss Ancelotti took a risk rushing David Alaba back for the first leg following his injury woes, and the Austrian was taken off at half time at the Etihad and subsequently missed the title-clinching win over Espanyol alongside Eden Hazard, Gareth Bale and Luka Jovic - the latter of whom is now back.Īlaba has made the squad for the second leg but may only make the bench having not trained yet, while Eder Militao and Nacho Fernandez will also return from domestic suspensions to form a strong Blancos rearguard.
While Real Madrid confirmed their status as national champions with a 4-0 win at the weekend, City's identical victory over Leeds United only leaves them one point clear of Liverpool at the summit, and the pressure could hardly be weighing heavier on the Citizens' shoulders right now. Having outplayed, outfought and dominated Real Madrid for almost the entirety of the first half at the Etihad, City will no doubt feel aggrieved to travel to the Bernabeu with only a one-goal lead in tow, and there is plenty of work still to be done for a restless Guardiola, who is growing more and more desperate for that elusive European title. It has been less than a month since an English team last came up trumps on the Bernabeu turf, although Chelsea's thrilling 3-2 win proved inconsequential in the end, and not since December 2018 have Real Madrid failed to score at home in the Champions League - a streak which is unlikely to end even against the most resilient of City backlines. While Los Blancos overturned a one goal deficit to dump Paris Saint-Germain out of the tournament in this season's last-16 stage, the capital outfit have never made it through to the final when losing the first leg of a semi-final, and history cannot repeat itself if a 14th European crown is to remain on the agenda. Benzema's brace either side of Vinicius Junior's dazzling run and finish has kept the tie alive for a Real side whose defence was also breached at will by the Citizens, who struck four times themselves through Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden on the night.Ĭarlo Ancelotti's side quickly dusted off their shooting boots to hit Espanyol for four without reply and confirm their status as La Liga champions with four games to spare at the weekend, and a domestic and European double would certainly send a reminder to the footballing world of their long-standing continental dominance.