Manchester City will play hosts to Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on Friday evening hoping to pick up a result at home and secure progression into the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. Pep Guardiola’s men managed to claim a hard-fought 2-1 win over Los Blancos in the first leg, so they are in pole position to come out on top later this week.
The Mancunian outfit will set themselves up in a 4-3-3 formation with Joao Cancelo set to return at left-back in the absence of the suspended Benjamin Mendy.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Real Madrid
Defence
Ederson will operate in goal for the home team after keeping back-to-back clean sheets versus Watford and Norwich City respectively. The defensive duo of Aymeric Laporte and Fernandinho will lineup at the heart of the Man City backline as they try to restrict Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema from scoring on Friday.
Kyle Walker will be nailed-on to start at right-back while Joao Cancelo fills in on the other side as a makeshift left-back. Guardiola will instruct both his full-backs to maintain a solid defensive shape so that they can limit the chances Zinedine Zidane’s side create out on the wide areas.
Midfield
Guardiola might opt for a midfield comprised of Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne as they look to create some meaningful goal-scoring chances in the decisive end of the field. De Bruyne will carry most of the creative workload while both Gundogan and Rodri sit deep while trying to establish Man City’s dominance at the centre of the park.
Phil Foden will be available for selection on the bench but might come to make an impact in the second half if required.
Attack
Raheem Sterling will look to cause all sorts of problems for the Madrid defenders down the left flank. Riyad Mahrez will try to do the same on the right while Gabriel Jesus spearheads Guardiola’s attack down the middle. All three attackers will have to be at their game if the home side are to score enough goals to win this match.
Bernardo Silva might have to settle for a spot on the bench and await his opportunity to shine as an impact substitute if Guardiola decides to opt for his services.
