Kyle Walker returns to the starting line up for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in our quarter-final second leg tie at Atletico Madrid last month.
However, the England international returned to training earlier this week and takes his place at right back at the Bernabeu.
With City holding a 4-3 advantage from last week’s compelling first leg tie, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez also return to the starting eleven.
From the side that beat Leeds 4-0 at Elland Road on Saturday, Nathan Ake, Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish revert to the bench.
Guardiola revealed earlier this week that John Stones was not fit for selection after suffering a recurrence of a muscular problem during last week’s first leg tie at the Etihad.
Teams
REAL MADRID: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Casemiro, Mendy, Valverde, Nacho, Kroos, Modric, Benzema, Vinicius Jnr
Subs: Lunin, Fuidias, Alaba, Vallejo, Asensio, Marcelo, Jovic, Lucas V, Ceballos, Rodrygo, Mariano, Camavinga
CITY: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Foden, Jesus, Mahrez
Subs: Steffen, Carson, Ake, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Sterling, Grealish, Egan Riley, Palmer, McAtee, Lavia
Formation
City look set to deploy our favoured 4-3-3 system as we seek to secure the result that would see us qualify for a second successive Champions League final.
With Ederson the familiar bulwark in goal, the Brazilian keeper will be shielded by a back four of Walker, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and Joao Cancelo.
Rodri will operate as the holding midfielder with De Bruyne and Bernardo also likely to be in the engine room.
Meanwhile our attacking triumvirate is expected to consist of Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus and Mahrez.
However, as always with City’s fluidity and flexibility, there could be tactical tweaks or alterations to our formation.
We will know for sure come kick-off at 8pm!
The fab four?
City will step out at the Bernabeu holding a slender but precious 4-3 advantage following last week’s remarkable first leg encounter.
And if we are able to secure what would be a famous victory in the Spanish capital it would mean Pep Guardiola’s side join an elite set of clubs.
For a triumph tonight would see City achieve a fourth straight win over the Real following our twin successes against them in the last 16 in 2020 and last week’s Etihad win.
To date, only two sides have ever won four games in a row against Real Madrid in European competition, with Ajax doing so between 1973 and 1995 and Bayern Munich achieving the feat between 2000 and 2002.
If City can secure a fourth straight success it would see us take our place alongside Ajax and Bayern in that special grouping – and secure our place in European football’s showpiece occasion once again.
No lack of incentive then!
Stats and facts
●The first leg between Manchester City and Real Madrid was only the second semi-final first leg in UEFA Champions League history to see seven goals scored, along with Liverpool 5-2 Roma in 2017-18. Only two semi-finals have seen 10 or more goals scored over the two legs: Juventus 6-4 Monaco in 1997-98 and Liverpool 7-6 Roma in 2017-18.
● Manchester City have won their last three UEFA Champions League matches against Real Madrid; only two sides have ever won four in a row against them in European competition, with Ajax doing so between 1973 and 1995 and Bayern Munich between 2000 and 2002.
● Manchester City have progressed in nine of the previous 10 UEFA Champions League two-legged knockout ties when they’ve won the first leg, only failing in the Last 16 vs Monaco (5-3 first leg, 1-3 second leg).
● Real Madrid have been eliminated in all five previous UEFA Champions League semi-finals when they’ve lost the first leg; however, they have progressed from two of their last three knockout ties when losing the first leg, in the 2015-16 quarter-final vs VfL Wolfsburg and this season’s Last 16 vs Paris Saint-Germain.
● Should Manchester City qualify for the UEFA Champions League final, they will have done so in consecutive seasons, having lost 1-0 to Chelsea in last season’s final. They’ll be the fourth English side to reach consecutive European Cup/Champions League finals, after Liverpool (1977/1978, 1984/1985, 2018/2019), Manchester United (2008/2009) and Nottingham Forest (1979/1980).
● Real Madrid have lost their last two UEFA Champions League matches and have only lost three in a row once before, doing so between February and October 2020, a run which included two defeats to Manchester City. Current manager Carlo Ancelotti has never lost three matches in a row in the Champions League, with this match his 178th in the competition.
● Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior has created 28 chances in open play in the UEFA Champions League this season, the most by a player since Dusan Tadic in 2018-19 (36) and most by a Los Blancos player since 2010-11 (Mesut Özil, 32). He has also has six open play assists, including four at the Bernabéu: since 2003-04, the only player with more than six in a season is James Milner in 2017-18 for Liverpool (7).
● Kevin De Bruyne has 18 UEFA Champions League assists for Manchester City, the most of any player and behind only Neymar (25) and Kylian Mbappé (20) in the competition since his debut for City in September 2015. De Bruyne scored and assisted in the first leg, one of only two occasions he’s done so in the UEFA Champions League – the other was at the Bernabéu vs Real Madrid in February 2020.
● Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola has won four UEFA Champions League matches against Real Madrid, with only Ottmar Hitzfeld winning more (7). Two of his wins over Madrid have come at the Bernabeu (2011 with Barcelona, 2020 with City) and he could become the first manager to win three away from home there.
● Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema has scored nine UEFA Champions League goals in the knockout stages this season, with only Cristiano Ronaldo in 2016-17 (10) ever scoring more in a single season. Benzema could become the fourth player to score in both legs of the quarter-final and semi-final in a season, after Fernando Morientes (2003-04, Monaco), Neymar (2014-15, Barcelona) and Edin Dzeko (2017-18, Roma).
