Manchester City will entertain Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on Friday evening hoping to avoid a defeat so that they can seal qualification into the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. Los Blancos will have to focus on securing a victory away at the north-west of England if they are to stand any chance of overcoming their 2-1 first-leg deficit.
Talking Tactics
Pep Guardiola will opt for a 4-3-3 formation and could ask his players to win the midfield battle so that they can enjoy more of the ball in the opposition half. The home team will look to outplay the Madrid side and create some decent goal-scoring chances going forward.
Zinedine Zidane will set his team up in a 4-3-3 formation as well. However, the French head coach will need to be more adventurous and flexible with his tactics than usual as his players have to find out a way to earn a high scoring victory in Manchester. We can expect the Spanish giants to threaten on the counter.
Team News
Manchester City
Sergio Aguero is still out of action with a knee injury while Benjamin Mendy also misses out due to suspension after he had picked up a caution in the first leg. Guardiola might opt for the more experienced Fernandinho at centre-back ahead of Eric Garcia, who has seen a lot of football in recent weeks, but the occasion could be too big for him to start.
Manchester City Predicted XI
Ederson; Walker, Fernandinho, Laporte, Cancelo; Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Mahrez
Real Madrid
Sergio Ramos will be unavailable for selection following his red card in the first leg, so we can expect Zidane to bring Eder Militao back for this clash on the road. Eden Hazard could get the nod to operate on the left flank and will be desperate to put on a good show on his return to England.
Real Madrid Predicted XI
Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Militao, Mendy; Casemiro, Modric, Kroos; Hazard, Benzema, Asensio
Key Men
Manchester City
Raheem Sterling can be a real menace for Los Blancos if they decide to push high up the field in search of a goal. His pace could cause all sorts of problems for Dani Carvajal. In midfield, Kevin De Bruyne will once again be Man City’s chief playmaker as he tries to orchestrate some inviting openings in the final third.
Real Madrid
The defensive performance of Raphael Varane and Eder Militao might go a long way in determining the outcome of this exciting European tie. Karim Benzema will carry most of the away side’s goal-scoring workload when they travel to the Etihad on Friday.
Odds
The bookmakers have made Man City the favourites to emerge victorious tomorrow evening after they were priced at 8/11. The draw has been listed as 10/3 while the Bernabeu outfit are 16/5 underdogs to pull off an upset in Manchester.