Real Madrid vs Manchester City: Combined XI

Los Blancos and The Cityzens face off in the UCL semi-final 1st leg, with world-class players set to showcase their skills

On Wednesday night a familiar anthem will be played at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. The ultimate football competition will be back after twenty days of interval and preparation. As we move towards the business end of the Champions League - whose final will be held at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium on 11 June. Fans worldwide will be booking their seats on a streaming platform or at the stadium itself.

Real Madrid players come off with a morale boost, as they helped secure the 20th Copa del Rey trophy for the club. A brace by Rodrygo helped secure their 20th Copa del Rey title, and also help him accumulate every possible winner's medal on Spanish soil. Real Madrid seems all set to host Guardiola's Manchester as the UEFA Champions League semi-final 1st Leg fixture kicks off at 12:30 AM IST (Tuesday 9:00 pm CET).

On the other hand a brace by Manchester City captain, İlkay Gündoğan helped Citizens keep hold of a vital lead in the PL as Arsenal continue their chase. Although Pep Guardiola wasn't too pleased with Haaland handing over a penalty spot kick to Gündoğan - who ultimately hit the woodwork. We feel it won't be too big an issue as Haaland already has too many goals under his belt.

Both teams have world-class players on their payroll and it's hard to isolate a group of XI players to name a combined side. But, we will give it a go:

Formation: 4-3-3

Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)

After the culmination of the 2021/22 season, Courtois was no doubt going to be crowned the best keeper of the world. At Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Belgian received the Yashin Trophy, awarded by France Football, and cemented that recognition. After ending up seventh on the Ballon d'Or podium last year, Courtois has kept his stats in check. After securing 16 clean sheets in a matter of 42 games, and just a yellow card offence, we pick the Real Madrid number 1 ahead of City's Ederson.

Left-back: David Alaba (Real Madrid)

In the outfield players, we start by slotting in a left-back. Under Carlo Ancelotti, the left-footed Austrian International has been seen deployed as a center-back for Real Madrid. But he has time and time again shown how capable he is still at a more offensive, left-back position. Before joining Real Madrid from the German side, FC Bayern - Alaba had spent almost a decade in that role. So, he seems the right fit.

Centre-back: Rúben Dias (Manchester City)

We already have placed a much more dependable shot-stopper in the name of Thibaut Courtois. But, he will need some shielding in front. The Portuguese International will be used as the rock at the back. Under Pep Guardiola, this season Manchester City's number 3 has played a total of 38 games while receiving a handful of yellows - to be precise five.

Centre-back: John Stones (Manchester City)

Although, we would have gone with the Brazilian Éder Militão to start with Dias. But he will miss out on the UCL semi-final tie due to a suspension - for accumulating two yellow cards in this season's UCL competition. So we bring John Stones into the center-back pairing with Rúben Dias. Stones has scored a total of 3 times in 28 games in all competitions, while also assisting 3 times. This makes him a right fit for set pieces or corners.

Right-back: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)

The Spaniard gets a nod ahead of Manchester City's Kyle Walker. Pep Guardiola seems to be using him less this season, and we might as well. Carvajal has provided his team with five assists in all competitions. He has also played 40 games this season.

Central-midfield: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)

The arrangement of the midfield orchestra seems an easy decision. There's no denying, Real Madrid will be making a really difficult choice if they let Luka Modrić leave this summer. The Croatian International has served his duties well this season too. The Madrid number 10 has been used a total of 45 times - while he ages like fine wine at 37. He has netted 6 goals while also providing further 6 assists.

Centre defensive-midfield: Rodri (Manchester City)

Rodri fills in at a more defensive midfield role than Luka Modrić. The Spaniard will be a blessing for any team he plays for. He knows how to find his attacking mates too. This season alone Rodri has built his rapport for assists - as he records a tally of 7 assists. For Manchester City, the number 16 has also stepped on the goal front with goals on 3 occasions.

Central-midfield: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

What a player! The Belgian midfield maestro has a massive assists tally to brag about. In the Premier League alone, he has provided 16 assists while also netting 7 goals for the Blue part of Manchester. He will be quickly looking to dethrone the next player on our list - as he lurks in at second in UCL assists stat by a margin of one. With Rodri helping cover the defense, we can allow the duo of De Bruyne and Modrić to pull the strings of the game as desired.

Left-wing: Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid)

At just 22, the Brazilian has the capacity and ability to dazzle a crowd of 80,000+ spectators at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. His stats could make Madrid think thrice of putting their money on Kylian Mbappé. Probably the next future number 7 for the Los Blancos side - Vini has 22 goals this season in all competitions. He hasn't given up on the assists charts either - as he boats a tally of 21 assists to his name, in just 50-odd outings.

Striker: Erling Braut Haaland (Manchester City)

One guy that the opponents wouldn't want to have the ball in their team's defence is the Norwegian international. At a 1.1 Goal Ratio, the deadly striker has contributed 51 goals for his club.

In the Premier League alone he has 35 goals in 32 appearances, and there seems to be no stopping. Having already surpassed the record of scoring the most goals in a PL season. Haaland will be hungry for more. To give you a perspective, Haaland has more goals in Premier League than entire squads have managed to score. Even free spending Chelsea has managed a total of 34 goals in the PL.

Haaland could help the Citizens acquire their maiden UCL title, and might even end up winning the Ballon d'Or this term.

Right-wing: Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)

To provide much-needed versatility in the final third, we have picked Riyad Mahrez over Rodrygo. The Algerian wizard has 15 goals and 12 assists in just 42 games, while Rodrygo has a similar stat in 51 odd games.