Manchester City travel to face reigning European champions Real Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday, May 9. Last Word on Sports have put together a Manchester City Predicted Lineups as the Citizens aim to get an early advantage in this tie.
Manchester City Predicted Lineup vs Real Madrid
How Manchester City Have Lined-Up Recently
Pep Guardiola seems to have reinvented his squad this season and is making them play some amazing football to keep their European treble dreams alive. While he’s maintained his reputation for chopping and changing his side every now and then, the Spaniard has a settled strongest lineup that he’ll play in games like these.
Ederson, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias and John Stones are likely to marshall the backline. Meanwhile Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish – recently hailed as ‘almost unplayable’ by Rio Ferdinand – operate as auxiliary wing-backs. Of course, the likes of goal machine and incredible summer signing Erling Haaland as well as Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan all remain important and have featured throughout this season.
Manchester City Recent Form and Tactics
The Citizens have been in an amazing run of form over the last few months and are currently on a 20-match winning streak, which makes them huge favorites to win the game going into the Santiago Bernabeu.
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Manchester City have been following an unusual 3-2-4-1 formation as of late, which has been highly effective and allowed them to totally outplay their opponents. They follow Guardiola’s philosophy of possession-heavy football, in which almost everyone barring the goalkeeper is allowed to progress forward with the ball.
The Citizens rely on quick passes to create most of their chances, with the wingers often creating most of the chances through the wide areas. It’s not just about the wingers; the midfielders often move into the wide areas to set up chances too and having a ruthless finisher like Haaland only helps amplify their attacking threat.
Manchester City Key Players
Haaland has been a huge addition to Manchester City. He’s scored 35 goals in the Premier League and more goals than any other player in Europe’s elite leagues. The Norwegian is in a sizzling run of form that can cause major damage to Real Madrid. With his brilliant movement past defenders and lethal finishing skills, Haaland will not need many chances to deal a decisive blow to the reigning European Champions.
De Bruyne has also excelled with him and remains a huge threat for City. His incredible final third passes, set-piece delivery and long-range shooting make him a major threat for the Citizens. Grealish has evolved in his second season at City, as he’s putting in a lot of defensive work and also creating many chances from his interesting role – while Gundogan can also be an unpredictable threat with his clever passing and movement in the final third.
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While City might be in such a rich run of form, they do have certain weaknesses. One is against counter-attacking teams and Real Madrid are the best one around. They’ll need to be very careful in the transitions, with Dias, Akanji and Stones needing to be at their very best in stopping the likes of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr before they can wreak havoc inside the box.
Manchester City Injuries to Consider
The Citizens have been dealt a blow before the game as defender Nathan Ake is ruled out for this game. Apart from that, however, the Citizens have a fully fit squad available for this big game.
Manchester City Predicted Lineup
Ederson, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin de Bruyne, Erling Haaland
Main Photo
