Real Madrid are sitting pretty at the top of the La Liga table with an eight-point lead over Barcelona but their next endeavour will be in the Champions League where they take on Manchester City in the quarter-final.
Last season, it was Man City who knocked Madrid out of the UCL and despite Madrid’s recent dominance in Europe, they have won just one out of the last six meetings against the English champions. The first leg of this season’s quarter-final will be played at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
The Los Blancos are unbeaten in their previous 21 home games and they have gotten one full week of rest and preparation for this high-intensity encounter which is undoubtedly advantageous for the home team. MCFC on the other hand, played out a 4-2 win against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The last time these two sides met, Man City completely dismantled Real Madrid, winning 4-1 in the second leg of the semis. It’s hard to predict a similar humiliation but there could be a major goal fest on Tuesday night because the last five times these two sides have met, an average of 4.3 goals per 90 minutes have been scored.
Real Madrid’s team news and injuries:
Carlo Ancelotti has only two major injuries in the form of Courtois and David Alaba. Alaba is out of the remainder of the season while Courtois is expected to return sometime next month.
Alaba’s absence has forced the Real Madrid manager to use either Nacho or Tchouameni in the centre-back role but according to some rumours, Ancelotti will rely on Fernandes as Rudiger’s partner when MCFC come to town.
Aurelien Tchouameni has played several times as a centre-back this season but that’s not his natural position which could probably force Ancelotti to use the more experienced Nacho.
Eder Militao has just come back from a long injury layoff and he started on the bench in the win over Athletic Club. He’s not going to feature but his return during the business end of the season is a big boost.
If Tchouameni does not find a place in defence then he will start on the bench because Camavinga will be preferred in defensive midfield alongside Toni Kroos.
Luka Modric has seen his game time diminish this campaign and he will come off the bench in the second half – if needed.
Brahim Diaz has played 1162 minutes of league football for Real Madrid and he played 72 minutes last weekend but for the Manchester City game, the 24-year-old will make way for Vinicius Jr who missed the last game due to a one-match La Liga ban for accumulated bookings.
Real Madrid predicted line up vs Man City:
Predicted Starting XI(4-2-2-2): Lunin; Mendy; Nacho, Rudiger, Carvajal; Kroos, Camavinga; Bellingham, Valverde; Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr.
