Manchester City vs. Real Madrid: Previews, Team News, Key Stats, Potential Lineups, Kickoff Time, and Prediction
Manchester City vs. Real Madrid: Pep Guardiola will face his old rival Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals for the second time when City takes on the galacticos.
Guardiola has dominated his former La Liga opponents throughout his career, and Man City enters this quarterfinal as heavy favorites, with Guardiola aiming for the title.
Match Predictions
Guardiola has faced Real Madrid three times in the Champions League, all in the knockout stages, and has won two of them, with the only blemishes being losses in both legs in 2014 while at Bayern. Guardiola has won four of the remaining six games against Madrid, with the other two games ending in draws. In 2011, he and Barcelona knocked Madrid out of the Champions League semifinals.In fact, Guardiola's two losses against Bayern represent half of his 19 losses against Real Madrid, with the rest of his La Liga games being lost by a single goal margin.If Man City is to win the Champions League for the first time, Guardiola will have to channel his previous success against La Liga's heavyweights.
News from the team
Pep Guardiola says he'll make a final decision on Kyle Walker and John Stones' fitness on Tuesday, ahead of our Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid, but admits the pair are 'doubts.'
Walker has been out since the second leg of our quarter-final match against Atletico Madrid earlier this month due to an ankle injury.
Stones, on the other hand, was unable to play in Watford's Premier League victory last Saturday after suffering muscle soreness during our 3-0 victory over Brighton the week before.Over the weekend, the manager revealed that both Kevin De Bruyne and Nathan Ake played through pain in the Watford win.
Meanwhile, Joao Cancelo will be unable to participate in the game due to his suspension.
Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, and Mariano Diaz have all been ruled out of the match due to injuries and will not be traveling to Manchester. Although David Alaba, Casemiro, and Ferland Mendy have all traveled to England, their availability for the match will be determined on match day.Mendy and Alaba may be available for selection, according to reports in Spain, while Casemiro may be left out. With their last league match on Wednesday, Carlo Ancelotti's side has had a longer break in preparation for Tuesday's match. As a result, Real Madrid's players will have a slight fitness advantage over their opponents.
Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois is a lock to start in goal, and he'll have a busy night at the Etihad. Eder Militao and Alaba should play together in central defense if they are fit. If the Austrian isn't ready, Nacho Fernandez should start at the heart of the Merengues' defense. Dani Carvajal and Mendy, both fullbacks, should be lined up together.Due to the uncertainty surrounding Casemiro's participation, Federico Valverde may be tasked with marking Kevin De Bruyne at the base of the three-man midfield unit. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos should fill the remaining two spots in the middle of the park, providing attacking impetus and creativity.
Rodrygo Goes has been in outstanding form recently and is expected to start on the right wing. Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior are certain starters in the final two attacking slots.
Key Figures
Manchester City will face Real Madrid for the ninth time in European competition. Each of the previous six have taken place in the UEFA Champions League since 2012/13. Both teams have won two of their last six games (D2), with the Cityzens winning the last two.
Real Madrid has lost all three of their previous European meetings with Manchester City (D2 L1).
Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City manager, has knocked Real Madrid out of the UEFA Champions League twice before, once with Barcelona in the 2010/11 semi-finals and again with Manchester City in the 2019/20 Round of 16.In the UEFA Champions League, Carlo Ancelotti has won 74 percent of his games in charge of Real Madrid (26/35), the best win percentage of any manager in the competition who has managed at least 20 games for a single team.
Raheem Sterling has 24 goals for Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League. If he scores again, he will overtake Paul Scholes (24) as the English player with the most goals for an English team in the competition's history, trailing only Wayne Rooney (30).Potential Lineups
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte, Ake; Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Foden, Sterling; City Probable Lineup (4-3-3):
Manchester City is a tough opponent, but Liverpool showed Real Madrid the way earlier this month when they drew in the Premier League before beating them in the FA Cup semi-finals. Citizens have won their last two games after their loss to Brighton and Watford.On the other hand, Carlo Ancelotti's team will want to follow Liverpool's lead and have the tools to hit their opponents where it hurts. Given that Real Madrid has already faced two major challenges in Europe in PSG and Chelsea, they should be able to come away with a positive result from the Etihad, even if it is not an outright victory. Real Madrid should be able to come away with a positive result from the Etihad, even if it is not an outright victory, given their pedigree in the competition.
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