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THE FACTS
When is Man City vs Real Madrid on and what time does it start? Man City vs Real Madrid will take place on Wednesday 17th April, 2024 – 20:00 (UK)
Where can I get tickets for Man City vs Real Madrid? Visit each club’s official website for the latest ticket information
What channel is Man City vs Real Madrid on in the UK? Man City vs Real Madrid will be televised live on TNT Sports in the UK
Where can I stream Man City vs Real Madrid in the UK? Man City vs Real Madrid can be streamed live on the discovery+
THE LOWDOWN
MAN CITY
Manchester City had a major boost in the aspirations to complete a historic ‘double treble’ at the weekend as they hammered Luton Town by five goals to one at the Etihad Stadium. That was followed up by both title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool suffering surprise home defeats to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace respectively.
That means Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens head into this week sitting at the top-of-the-table in the Premier League with an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley at the weekend. In the meantime, though, they host Real Madrid in a European knockout tie for a third successive season with all of the attention on east Manchester this week.
REAL MADRID
Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid have done as Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid do: win by any means and at all costs even without playing overly well or remotely fluently. Los Blancos have played 44 matches across all competitions so far this season and suffered just two defeats with both losses coming against city rivals Atletico at the Metropolitano.
They avoided defeat last week at the Bernabeu with Fede Valverde scoring a 79th minute equaliser to mean we head into this second-leg at the Etihad Stadium at three goals apiece. Since that first-leg, Madrid have edged past Real Mallorca by a goal to nil with a 48th minute winner from Aurelien Tchouameni.
THE TEAM NEWS
MAN CITY
Pep Guardiola has said that Kyle Walker may be able to play ‘some minutes’ against Real Madrid but he has been keen to remain cautious over the Englishman returning from injury. Ederson is expected to start in goal after Stefan Ortega played in the first-leg.
PREDICTED XI (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Stones, Rodri; Foden, De Bruyne, Silva, Grealish; Haaland
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE: Walker (Injured)
REAL MADRID
After a couple of minutes last weekend, Aurelien Tchouameni was booked for a challenge on Jack Grealish and he is suspended for this second-leg. He joins both Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba on the sidelines with those players missing through injury.
PREDICTED XI (4-1-2-1-2): Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Militao, Mendy; Kroos; Valverde, Camavinga; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior
UNAVAILABLE: Courtois (Injured), Alaba (Injured), Tchouameni (Suspended)
QUESTIONABLE:
THE KEY STATS
THE PREDICTION
In the semi-finals in 2022, City edged past Madrid with a 4-3 thriller at the Etihad before their dramatic loss late on in the second-leg. However, last season perhaps showed the advantage of playing at the Etihad second even more so as City came away from the Spanish capital with a draw and then blew Madrid away by four goals to nil. Guardiola, in the recently published Netflix documentary of City’s treble success, was seen discussing the importance of the second-leg being at home. Ancelotti has said he knows his team will have more about them than they did in that aforementioned hammering last season but the truth is, City remain firm favourites and the return of Kyle Walker, for however long he can manage, only strengthens that view due to the success he has had against Vinicius Junior, the visitors’ key man, in the recent past.
TIP: MAN CITY TO WIN