Real Madrid and Manchester City will battle it out at the Santiago Bernabeu this week for a spot in the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League final.
After a pulsating first leg 4-3 at Etihad last week, Real Madrid and Manchester City square off again tonight at Santiago Bernabeu for the second slot against Liverpool at the Stade de France in Paris on May 28.
Real Madrid come into this tie as La Liga Champions and serial winners who will draw upon their last-16 comeback against Paris Saint-Germain, having overturned a one goal deficit to dump them out at Santiago Bernabeu.
Manchester City head to the Santiago Bernabeu with a slender advantage as they again seek the continental success that has thus far eluded them.
Real Madrid have never made it through to the final when losing the first leg of a semi-final. Can history repeat itself?
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the fixture.
Real Madrid vs Man City 2nd leg Team News
Real Madrid defender David Alaba makes the surprise inclusion after talks that he would miss the tie.
🚨🎖| David Alaba will NOT play tomorrow, he's ruled out for the game against City. @MarioCortegana
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) May 3, 2022
The Austrian was forced off at half-time in the first leg and was absent from training on Sunday but he’s part of the squad to face Madrid at Bernabeu.
📋✅ Our squad for the match 🆚 @ManCity!#UCL pic.twitter.com/S7TXirNoZk
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 3, 2022
Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale miss out but Casemiro is ready after missing the first leg at Etihad.
Man City welcome Joao Cancelo back with open arms following his first-leg suspension, and Kyle Walker also travel with the group despite his ankle injury but John Stones is ruled out.
Off to Madrid 🛫🇪🇸#ManCity | @Dsquared2 pic.twitter.com/QOYRZdiz3F
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 3, 2022
Real Madrid vs Man City 2nd leg Predicted Lineups
Real Madrid possible starting lineup(4-4-2):
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric, Valverde; Benzema, Vinicius Jr
Manchester City possible starting lineup(4-3-3):
Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko; Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Jesus, Foden
Head-to-head(h2h)
Real Madrid wins: 2
Man City wins: 3
Draws: 2
Real Madrid’s last victory over Manchester City came back in May 2016, when they advanced to the final in Milan after a Fernando own goal in another semi-final second leg at the Bernabeu.
Key Stats
- Manchester City have won their last three Champions League matches against Real Madrid. Only two teams have ever won four in a row against Los Blancos in European competitions – Ajax (between 1973 and 1975) and Bayern Munich (between 2000 and 2002).
- Real Madrid have been eliminated in all five previous UEFA Champions League semi-finals when they have lost the first leg. However, they have progressed from two of their last three knockout ties when losing the first leg.
- Manchester City have progressed in nine of the previous ten Champions League two-legged knockout ties when they have come out on top in the first leg.
- Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has created 28 chances from open play in the UEFA Champions League this season. It is the most in the competition by a player since Dusan Tadic in 2018/19 (36).
Prediction:
Real Madrid 1-1 Man City
Madrid will be riding on high confidence after winning La Liga title at the weekend and playing home in front of 93 fully seated fans on Wednesday.
They pulled off a remontada against PSG at the Bernabeu and clawed their way back against Chelsea to ensure they progressed to the semi-finals on the aggregate scoreline.
However, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City showed their prowess last week, and how tougher they are despite fielding an aged 36-year old Fernandinho at right back.
And with Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo back, the Cityzens will be setting out a stronger team than the one at the Etihad last week as well.
The battle for the second slots in Paris tonight promises to be another nail-biting encounter, with perhaps not as many goals as in the first leg. But, City should have enough to eliminate the newly-crowned La Liga champions and qualify for a second consecutive final.
