Man City failed to kill off Real Madrid in the 1st leg of the semi-final so now they must go to the Bernabeu with only a single-goal advantage.
City could and should have scored six or seven goals in the 1st leg but not only did they miss numerous chances, but they also allowed Real Madrid to net three goals. And since there’s no away goals rule, the Los Blancos can very easily turn this one around.
Man City go into the second leg at the back of four straight wins and in those matches, they have scored 16 goals and conceded only four. The Premier League side are very much the favourites to win and go through to the final but Madrid showed in the first leg that it’s never a good idea to write them off.
At the Etihad, Guardiola was without several key players but he will have an almost fully fit squad to choose from this time around and that’s a massive boost for him.
Man City team news vs Real Madrid:
DEFENCE:
Both Kyle Walker and John Stones are expected to miss out again but since Joao Cancelo is available, Guardiola won’t be too worried about these two injuries.
Obviously, the manager will lose bench strength but with Cancelo coming back, he will move to the right-hand side while Zinchenko comes in to play on the left-hand side of defence.
With Stones out injured, Laporte and Ruben Dias will be playing at centre-back.
MIDFIELD:
Apart from the two defenders, no other Man City player is injured which means the midfield is not going to see any unwarranted changes on Wednesday.
Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne are guaranteed starters at the Bernabeu and since Bernardo Silva has scored three goals in his last five appearances, he will keep Ilkay Gundogan on the bench.
Guardiola is a manager who loves to tinker with his tactics and formation during big matches but he won’t dare to shuffle his midfielders this week. This is the engine room of the Man City side and if the trio can work freely then reaching the final will not be a problem for Guardiola’s team.
ATTACK:
Gabriel Jesus played as the centre-forward in the first leg and he repaid that faith with a goal. The manager should be putting his confidence in the Brazilian once again meaning Guardiola will most likely ditch his false-nine system.
Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez had scored and assisted respectively at the Etihad so they too are guaranteed starters but the manager does have quality backups like Sterling and Jack Grealish should be required to change something in the second half.
Man City predicted line up vs Real Madrid:
Predicted Starting Line up(4-3-3): Ederson; Cancelo, Zinchenko; Laporte, Ruben Dias; Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva; Foden, Gabriel Jesus, Mahrez.
