UCL 2022-23 Semi-final 2nd Leg: Manchester City vs Real Madrid: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

Can the Los Blancos make it to yet another final or will the treble be a certain future for the Cityzens?

The two heavyweights played out a 1-1 draw at San Tiago Bernabeu in the first leg after Vinicius Jr.'s stunning effort was cancelled out by the brilliance of Kevin De Bruyne. With the tie being evenly poised, Manchester City have one hand on the Premier League trophy after Arsenal lost to Brighton, requiring just a win in three remaining games to seal the domestic trophy yet again. Manchester City have only lost one of their last five meetings with Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League (W3 D1), all of which have come under Pep Guardiola. They were winless in their first four games against them in the competition between 2012 and 2016 (D2 L2).

Although arch rivals Barcelona secured the LaLiga trophy last night, the Los Blancos have their eyes set on yet another UCL glory. The winners from last year have shown no signs of slowing down but Real Madrid are winless in their previous four away games against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League (D2 L2), losing each of the last two.

The only team they have faced more times away from home in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League without ever winning is Milan (seven games – D2 L5). Real Madrid have won their last two away games against English sides in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages (both this season). Only one team has ever won three consecutive away trips to English sides in the knockout stages of the competition, with Barcelona doing so between 2013-14 and 2015-16.

Kick-Off:

Wednesday, 17-05-2023, 07:00 PM (GMT)

Thursday, 18-05-2023, 12:30 AM (IST)

Manchester City Form (All Competitions): W-D-W-W-W

Real Madrid Form (All Competitions): W-D-W-L-W

Player to Watch Out

Manchester City: Ilkay Gundogan

Gundogan possesses that special ability that is integral to all of Pep Guardiola’s teams, the ability to keep the ball moving quickly, setting the tempo, organising his own team-mates while destabilising the opposition, the “pausa” to wait for the right pass, and that’s why he’s so cherished. And a title run-in Gundogan is totally different: he has two goals vs Leeds United, two goals and an assist vs Everton in his last two appearances for the Cityzens.

Real Madrid: Federico Valverde

Valverde’s greatest strength is his versatility. That way he can play in a variety of positions means that he often retains his place in Real's starting XI, regardless of the system Ancelotti chooses. In their 4-3-3, Valverde plays ahead of Toni Kroos alongside Luka Modric; in their 4-4-2 he most commonly plays on the right, and provides support for the relevant central midfielder while still advancing from a wide position.

Match Facts

Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 25 home games in the UEFA Champions League (W23 D2), with Lyon in September 2018 being the last away side to win there. Only two teams in the history of the competition have had a longer unbeaten home run: 38 games for Barcelona (2013-2020) and 29 games for Bayern Munich (1998-2002).

This will be Carlo Ancelotti’s 191st game as a manager in the UEFA Champions League, the outright most of any coach in the competition’s history (overtaking Alex Ferguson, 190). This will also be Ancelotti’s 50th game in charge of Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League, becoming just the second manager to reach 50+ games with two teams (73 with AC Milan), along with Pep Guardiola (73 Manchester City, 50 Barcelona).

Injury and Team News

Erling Haaland has had a phenomenal season but he will have to be at his ultimate best to defy the Galacticos yet another place in the UEFA Champions League final. Nathan Ake is the only player who remains injured for this fixture as Ruben Dias and John Stones continue to be the back pairing for Guardiola. Manuel Akanji has certainly proved his worth at left back with Bernardo Silva playing right in front of him at midfield.

Real Madrid are still concerned about the knock of Eduardo Camavinga and things look bleak for him ahead of this fixture but Ancelotti will be welcoming Eder Militao and Ferland Mendy in their Champions League squad. Karim Benzema, Rodrygo were all rested for the match against Getafe in LaLiga after they picked up knocks too. David Alaba is expected to start at left back if Ancelotti does not risk playing Camavinga right from the get go.

Head-to-head Stats

Matches – 9

Manchester City– 3

Draws – 3

Real Madrid– 3

Predicted Lineup for Manchester City vs Real Madrid

Manchester City Predicted lineup (4-3-3): 

Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji; De Bruyne, Rodri, B. Silva; Gundogan, Haaland, Grealish

Real Madrid Predicted lineup (4-3-3): 

Courtouis; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba; Valverde, Kroos, Modric; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.

Prediction

Although it seems that Manchester City have had a better run throughout the season and Pep's men will be gunning to prove themselves on the European stage, you can never write off a valiant Real Madrid team in this competition. We expect it to be a mouth watering encounter with goals on either sides and we won't be surprised if the tie needs extra time and tiebreaker for the decider.

Prediction: Manchester City 2-2 Real Madrid. (Real Madrid to win on penalities 4-3)

Telecast

India – Sony Sports Network, Sony LIV & Jio TV.

UK – BT Sport, BT Sports App.

US – CBS Sports Network, CBS, Univision, fuboTV, Paramount+.

Nigeria – SuperSport.