By Sulaimon Jamiu
Manchester City welcome Los Blancos – who are in strong scoring form – to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday for the first leg of their UCL semi-final tie, with Pep Guardiola’s men aiming to make the home advantage count against the 13-time European champions.
Pep Guardiola’s men needed just the one goal to scrape past Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals, while Real Madrid ended Chelsea’s hopes of back-to-back European crowns in a dramatic fashion.
Here are the four things to know about the much awaited tie.
1. Team news:
While all players who had only amassed one or two yellow have now seen their infringements wiped, City will have to cope without Joao Cancelo for the first leg, as the Portuguese picked up his third caution of the tournament at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Guardiola will therefore be desperate to have Kyle Walker back from an ankle issue in time for Tuesday. The right-back is “much, much better” according to the Catalan coach – and it remains to be seen if John Stones will battle back from a muscular injury to make himself available.
The likes of Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez will all anticipate recalls to the first XI this week, but Jesus has given Guardiola plenty of food for thought by responding to links with a move away with a quartet of strikes on Saturday.
While Real Madrid do not have any suspension concerns for the first leg, Eder Militao is back from a ban served in the home loss to Chelsea. Ancelotti’s injury problems are mounting after David Alaba was taken off with a thigh issue against Osasuna.
The defender was restricted to indoor work on Saturday alongside Eden Hazard, Lukafou Jovic and Mariano Diaz, all three of whom will miss out, but Alaba has made the squad alongside Casemiro and Ferland Mendy and could earn some minutes here.
Luka Modric was rested entirely for the win over Osasuna but will reprise his midfield role here alongside the returning Toni Kroos, while Marcelo should be fit enough to deputise at left-back for Mendy if needed.
2. Head to head:
Manchester City and Real Madrid have met six times in competitive fixtures in the past and each team has won two matches each, while the remaining two matches have ended as draws.
3. Players to look out for:
Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City: The 30-year-old Belgian has been instrumental to Manchester City’s Champions League run this season, with him scoring the winner in the quarterfinals against Atletico Madrid.
With over 250 appearances for the club, De Bruyne has been the lynchpin of the City midfield.
Karim Benzema, Real Madrid: Carlo Ancelotti’s men have made making comebacks a habit in the Champions League with phenomenal wins against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Chelsea in the round-of-16 and the quarterfinals respectively.
The man at the centre of both comebacks has been the 34-year-old from France – Karim Benzema. Scoring hat-tricks in consecutive matches, Benzema headed in the decisive goal against Chelsea to take Real into its 31st semifinal in the Champions League.
4. Predicted Lineups:
Manchester City Predicted XI: Ederson (GK), Zinchenko, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake, Gundogan, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling.
Real Madrid Predicted XI: Thibaut Courtois (GK), Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Rodrygo, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
