Real Madrid have just lifted the Copa del Rey trophy but there’s no time for celebrations because the Spanish giants will now take on Manchester City in the Champions League.
The first leg of the semi-final will be played at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night and this one is going to be a proper clash of the juggernauts.
Madrid are unbeaten in four home games but Man City will come to the Spanish capital with an almost inexplicable record. The Premier League side haven’t tasted defeat in their previous 20 matches and they have scored 14 goals in their last five outings.
Real Madrid have already knocked out two English sides from the Champions League this season but beating Man City won’t be a walk in the park. While they have the pedigree to pull it off but Carlo Ancelotti and his men will have to give their absolute best to be able to reach the final that is to be played at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
Real Madrid’s team news and injuries:
The biggest boost for Carlo Ancelotti is the return of Luka Modric who was recovering from a muscle injury. The veteran midfielder was a major doubt after picking up a knock in the loss to Girona but he did get some game time in the Copa del Rey final.
He came on as a sub and played around 10 minutes on Saturday and now it’s almost certain that Modric will be featuring in the first XI against Manchester City.
Brazilian defender Eder Militao picked up his third European booking of the season in the second leg against Chelsea so he will be suspended on Tuesday. Militao’s absence means David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger will pair up in central defence with Camavinga most probably playing as the left-back.
Ferland Mendy is the only injury absentee at the moment because the left-back is recovering from a calf injury he picked up during a training session in March.
The Real Madrid manager has more or less a set starting line up for the big matches and we don’t think he is going to make any unnecessary changes on Tuesday night.
Real Madrid predicted line up vs Man City:
Predicted Starting XI(4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, David Alaba, Rudiger, Camavinga; Valverde, Modric, Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.
