Manchester City host Real Madrid at Etihad Stadium in the second leg of their 2022-23 UEFA Champions League semi-final.
With this tie locked at 1-1 on aggregate after Kevin De Bruyne cancelled out Vinicius Junior’s opening strike at Santiago Bernabeu, victory would see either Man City or Real Madrid advance to the Final.
Another draw meanwhile would see the tie go to extra time and possibly penalties in order to determine a winner.
Team News
Man City have no fresh injury concerns to report after their league win at Everton with Nathan Ake unlikely to be risked as he continues to recover from a recurrence of his recent hamstring injury.
Real Madrid could be without Eduardo Camavinga after the midfielder suffered a knee injury in their La Liga win against Getafe last weekend.
Eder Militao is available after he was suspended for the first leg but Ferland Mendy (calf) remains absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Man City host Real Madrid at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday 17 May in a 8pm BST kick-off, live on BT Sport 1 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Man City have lost just one of their last five meetings against Real Madrid (W3, D1, L1).
- Real Madrid are winless in four previous Champions League visits to Man City (D2, L2).
- Man City have kept just one clean sheet at home to Real Madrid, drawing 0-0 in April 2016 in the first leg of that season’s semi-final which they eventually lost 1-0 on aggregate.
- Six of Man City’s 10 goals at home in the knockout stages this season have been scored by Erling Haaland, during which Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens have kept two clean sheets.
- Three Real Madrid players have scored away braces during this season’s knockout stages – Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema in 5-2 victory at Liverpool and Rodrygo in a 2-0 win at Chelsea.
Prediction
Although this tie is delidicately in the balance, Man City can enter this leg full of belief after a clinically dominant win at Everton on Sunday, where they were back to their free-flowing best which will motivate them coming into this match.
Real Madrid meanwhile should be back to full-strength after their narrow win over Getafe last weekend despite having made eight changes, which is a risk in terms of momentum disruption so it is vital that they start on the front foot if they’re to make that gamble pay off.
Real though haven’t been able to snatch a win before away to Man City but after clinching victories at Liverpool and Chelsea, they can believe that a hat-trick of away wins against English clubs will be possible but they’re to going to have to realistically score first then defend hard.
City though are a much-improved team compared to this stage last season and with players like Riyad Mahrez, Ilkay Gundogan and Erling Haaland in strong form, I fancy them to have the edge but the first goal could be decisive to the outcome of this tie.
Prediction: Manchester City 2-1 Real Madrid
Result: Manchester City 4-0 Real Madrid (Manchester City win 5-1 on aggregate!!)