The time has come for Real Madrid to make the trip to the Etihad. Both teams dealt with their league opposition, City against Luton Town and Madrid against Mallorca. But this is the game that both teams would have been thinking about all week.

Will it be another hostile atmosphere at the Etihad as Manchester City triumph or will Real Madrid overcome their recent struggles in Manchester?

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Starting Point

Notable Injuries:

• For Manchester City they have a fully fit squad. Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake and John Stones are all back in training.

• For Real Madrid they will be without Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba. Eder Militao is back in the team training but is a doubt to start, he came on for the last minute against Mallorca and is yet to start a game since his return from injury. Tchouameni will miss the match due to suspension.

Interesting Stats:

• Only Manchester City (27) have scored more goals in the Champions League than Real Madrid (21).

• Only Real Madrid and Manchester City are unbeaten in the Champions League this season.

• Manchester City have scored 3 or more goals in every single one of their Champions League games this season.

• Real Madrid have only lost two games in the 23/24 season, to Athletico Madrid in La Liga (3-1) and to Athletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey (4-2).

Manchester City vs Real Madrid Preview

Champions League

General Thoughts:

• Here is how I see Manchester City lining up for the game at the Etihad on Wednesday night, Kevin De Bruyne back in the starting eleven assuming no more ‘vomits’. Kyle Walker is back in training and a risk that I think Guardiola will take. His mental and physical battle against Vinicius Jr could be the difference between halting Madrid’s best offensive weapon.

• Ederson I would pick to start with Ortega to come in against Chelsea on Saturday. Buildup involvement and his distribution will be key in this match.

• This is the thread I wrote after the 1st leg in Madrid and a lot of it will still be relevant both sides in Manchester. For City there is the space provided to Grealish with Carvajal pushing high, Haaland running across and De Bruyne capable of exploiting it.
  
  On either wing with Grealish and Bernardo Silva, City will want to pull the opposition players away from the edge of the box to open up space for their shooters. Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Rodri and Josko Gvardiol, as mad as his inclusion sounds, could all use that space to score.

• Kevin De Bruyne as mentioned above missed the 1st leg and can be the difference on Wednesday night with his balls in behind to Haaland and being another shooting threat from outside the box. We saw Kovacic get into very good positions after breaking through the Madrid midfield but not have the quality of De Bruyne to expose them in the final third. Whether it’s the right or left side, look to see him try create a 2v1 against the Madrid full backs.

• Manuel Akanji has been, in my opinion, our most consistent defender this season and would be unlucky to miss out on a start. The form of Gvardiol makes it hard to see him dropped at LB. A straight fight between him, Walker and whether Guardiola wants to take a risk.

• Last season at the Etihad, City lost the ball in the first half 6 times. Four of those came from Bernardo Silva on the right side taking on his full back Camavinga.
  
  Rodri, Akanji, Stones, Bernardo, Gundogan, Dias and Walker all had above 90% passing accuracy. That is the composure on the ball City lacked in the 1st half vs Madrid last week and it will be needed this time around to win.

• Pressing would be my final point to look out for on Wednesday night, it was one of the reasons why City did so well in the game last season. As long as City had a 1v1 matchup at the back they stayed aggressive in the counter press and punishing Madrid when in possession.
  
  Along with forming 2v1s against full backs, being much more aggressive OOP counter pressing Madrid is something we didn’t see in the 1st leg as much and I’d expect City to turn up on Wednesday night.

Opposition Setup:

• Real Madrid will be without Tchouameni due to suspension and with Militao only just coming back from an ACL injury I’d expect Nacho to come in alongside Rudiger. One thing we saw in glimpses during the first game was Haaland making runs across the two CBs and De Bruyne playing this time around could expose that behind Nacho.

• Madrid rested Carvajal, Vinicius, Camavinga, Kroos and Rodrygo in their last league match, expect all of those to start the game on Wednesday night.

• For Real Madrid in the 1st leg they had plenty of success down their left side with Rodrygo and Vinicius linking up but just weren’t clinical enough to make it count for a win. I don’t seem them having very many wildcard options in the second leg to use than that but that can still be their route to victory. Akanji handled this much better in the second half along with John Stones and Ruben Dias being more aggressive OOP against Madrid forwards. Kyle Walker might throw this plan into doubt, even if he just get’s inside their heads.

• The Switch from right to left as they break into the final third was another pattern that was having some joy against Manchester City. Trusting Viniciuis and Rodrygo to receive that pass and pick out one another is a weapon they could have used better against City.

• Dani Carvajal is a outlet for Real Madrid pushing high on the their right side that we didn’t see used in the 1st leg. Overload the left and then cross to the right.

• Modric was excellent in the final 15 minutes of the game to drive Real Madrid up the pitch and create chances. Key pass in the Valverde goal. He started at the weekend so I don’t expect him to start but if it’s a level game in the final 15 minutes he could turn the tie.

Ones to Watch: 

• Manchester City: Kevin De Bruyne missed out on the first leg due to illness. With the space in behind Carvajal and the runs by Erling Haaland you’d expect City to have more joy with De Bruyne on the pitch. If he’s on form and has a good game then he’ll be the best player on the pitch.

• Real Madrid: Rodrygo has been a match winner for Real Madrid against Manchester City before and we saw in the first leg how much impact he could have down the left side. Whether it’s Kyle Walker or Manuel Akanji. Rodrygo will need to have a good game for Real Madrid to progress.

Predicted Lineup: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Gvardiol, Rodri, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Foden, Grealish, Haaland

Predicted Score: Manchester City 3 - 1 Real Madrid

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