Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City face a trip to the Spanish capital on Tuesday evening, as they look to put one foot in the final of Europe’s elite competition. Having reclaimed top spot in the Premier League with wins over Arsenal, Fulham, West Ham and Leeds, the team from East Manchester will now look to pick up the only trophy that has evaded them under the Spaniard’s reign.
Real Madrid will be buoyed by their recent win in the Copa del Rey, as they found a way past Osasuna to lift the trophy in sunny Seville. Domestically though, Los Blancos have endured a rocky patch of form recently – losing two of their last five games. Dropping points against Girona and Real Sociedad have seen Carlo Ancelotti’s side fall behind their local rivals Atletico Madrid, as the side from the Santiago Bernabéu sit third in LaLiga.
City sealed their place in this stage of the competition by picking up a win against Bayern Munich in the first leg, before settling for a draw against Thomas Tuchel’s side at the Allianz Arena. Real Madrid managed a comfortable win at home against Chelsea, before defeating the Blues by the same two-goal margin at Stamford Bridge a week later.
These two elite sides faced off in the semifinals of last year’s competition, as Rodrygo bagged a late brace to take the game to extra time in the Spanish capital – before Benzema converted from the spot to send Guardiola’s side packing.
Team News
Dani Ceballos has injured his thigh, and so he’ll be absent from Carlo Ancelotti’s matchday squad. However, the Italian’s starting eleven is expected to be bolstered by the return of Luka Modrić – as he made a short cameo at the end of the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti may have to deploy a makeshift defence though – Ferland Mendy remains unavailable with a calf injury, while Éder Militão will sit this game out through suspension. Eduardo Camavinga seems to have nailed down the starting left-back spot in his fellow Frenchman’s absence, so we’d expect him to start there once again.
Manchester City will be without Nathan Aké for the first leg of this tie, as the Dutch defender was forced off through injury during their 2-1 win over Leeds United. Aymeric Laporte could be recalled to the starting lineup to offer defensive cover, after seemingly falling out of favour at the Etihad Stadium. Alternatively, Manuel Akanji may be called upon. Cole Palmer is also absent through a long-term foot injury.
The visitors will be buoyed by the return of Kevin De Bruyne, as the Belgian midfielder returned to action in that win on the weekend. Despite not appearing against Leeds, John Stones, Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish are expected to return.
Predicted Lineups
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, Camavinga; Valverde, Modric, Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland
Where can I watch?
Kickoff at the Santiago Bernabéu is at 8pm UK time on Tuesday, 9 May 2023. The game will be shown live on BT Sport 1, with coverage starting at 7pm. If you don’t have BT Sport, fear not – we’ll have a detailed match report published within minutes of the final whistle.
