After a thrilling 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu last Tuesday, Manchester City are set to welcome Real Madrid to the Etihad Stadium for the second leg of a dramatic UEFA Champions League semifinal. Last time out, Rodrygo opened the scoring with a thunderous effort – despite City being the better side until that point. Kevin De Bruyne was there to bring things level with an equally impressive strike, meaning there’s nothing to separate the two sides ahead of this return fixture.
Los Blancos have struggled domestically this season – they sit fourteen points behind the LaLiga champions, Barcelona, who were crowned following their Derbi Barceloní win against Espnayol. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have won the Copa del Rey though, battling past Osasuna to earn a 2-1 win and lift the silverware.
As for Manchester City, they’ve capitalised on Arsenal’s recent misfortunes and now find themselves sitting comfortably at the top of the table. Pep Guardiola’s side last lost against Tottenham Hotspur on February 5, and that consistency has resulted in them sitting four points clear of the Gunners at the head of the Premier League table.
Team News
Nathan Ake is set to be the only absentee for Manchester City, giving Pep Guardiola plenty of options to choose from for this second leg tie. John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and and Jack Grealish were all rested on the weekend.
Eduardo Camavinga seems to have fought back from a recent knee injury, so Carlo Ancelotti is likely to deploy him at left-back once more. Eder Militao is back in the matchday squad, after missing out on last week’s game through suspension. Luka Modric, Ferland Mendy and Dani Ceballos are all set to return.
Predicted Lineups
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Camavinga; Valverde, Kroos, Modric; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr
Where can I watch?
Kickoff at the Etihad Stadium is at 8pm UK time on Wednesday, 17 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.
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