Real Madrid and Manchester City’s Champions League quarterfinal matchup is expected to be closely watched in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium after an exciting 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu last week.
On Wednesday, April 17th, at 20:00 BST, the second leg will begin. TNT Sports 1 and Ultimate will provide coverage of the match in the UK.
Both teams have been playing incredibly well in this campaign; before last week’s tie in the capital of Spain, they had won every game. But on Wednesday, something has to give, and before the semi-finals, one of Europe’s heavyweights will be eliminated.
This is the sixth meeting between these two, who have grown to be familiar rivals in the last ten years, and the outcomes have been fairly evenly split.
Last week, Real jumped out to an early lead after a two-goal salvo negated Bernardo Silva’s goal for City in the second minute. After a wild match, the score fluctuated in both directions, but Fede Valverde’s incredible late volley made sure the Spanish powerhouses would travel to Manchester this week on an even playing field.
Comforts at home might be crucial once more for City, who have never lost to the 14-time European winners at home. In their last two encounters at the Etihad, the English champions have triumphed 4-0 and 4-3 when Los Blancos have visited the city.
With a win this week, Pep Guardiola’s team, who are currently undefeated in 41 games across all competitions at the Etihad, would have a good chance of moving closer to winning back-to-back Champions League crowns.
With seven games left in the La Liga season, Real has an eight-point lead over Barcelona thanks to their recent strong play.
This season, Carlo Ancelotti’s team has scored 21 goals in the Champions League, while City has scored at least three goals in each of their past four games, thus another exciting matchup is anticipated in this final.
In seven of the eleven games in which these two clubs have faced off, at least three goals have been scored, and only three of those games have had one or both teams fail to score.
Team news for Manchester City vs. Real Madrid
While Phil Foden and Rodri are expected to make a comeback after being rested for the weekend’s victory against Luton, John Stones is doubtful for City.
In addition to Kevin De Bruyne, who returned from ιnjury on Saturday, Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake, Jack Grealish, and Bernardo Silva are also expected to start this game at the Etihad Stadium. The latter four were also not used as replacements against the Hatters.
With Real Madrid’s victory against Mallorca over the weekend, Eder Militao is back in the mix following his ιnjury recovery. Importantly, Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba are still sidelined for this return match in Manchester due to suspensions against Aurelien Tchouameni and them.