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If City win, they’d become the first English club to win away at Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions League more than once.
Real Madrid are set to host Manchester City in what is expected to be a blockbuster Champions League first-leg semi-final clash on Tuesday.
Boosted by a Copa del Rey trophy win, Los Blancos expect to have a good day on their own turf when they host the in-form English champions.
The teams last met at this stage of the competition last season, and the Spanish giants won as they went on to win the trophy.
The first leg ended in a 4-3 scoreline in favour of City before the second leg – which the England side scored first – before Rodrygo’s brace and a penalty from Karim Benzema ended Pep Guardiola’s dream to win the Champions League.
Real Madrid are out of the La Liga race and have not been in very impressive form lately, but they are expected to ride on their recent Copa del Rey success.
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22:55 - 06.05.2023
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On the other hand, City are in top form, are at the top of the Premier League after dislodging Arsenal, and are also in contention for the FA Cup.
The Etihad side is unbeaten in the last 20 games, winning 17 of them, and this form is expected to give them confidence as they chase a maiden European club trophy.
Team news
An accumulation of three yellow cards will mean Eder Militao will not be available for Carlo Ancelotti, while Ferland Mendy is not going to take part in it as he is yet to recover.
Luka Modric is expected to start after being used as a substitute in the Copa del Rey since he recovered from a hamstring injury.
Guardiola is expected to have a strong squad, with only Nathan Ake not available. The Dutch defender suffered a knock in the match against Leeds United and will miss the encounter.
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19:37 - 08.05.2023
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What are the stats saying?
The last four Champions League games between Real Madrid (eight) and Manchester City (nine) have seen 17 goals scored, at an average of 4.3 per match, according to Opta. While Man City had 31 shots on target compared to Real Madrid’s 17 in those four games, the Spanish side netted with 47% of their attempts on target, compared to 29% for the Citizens.
If his City are knocked out against Los Blancos, Guardiola would join Jose Mourinho in becoming the coach to lose the joint-most Champions League semi-final ties in the history of the competition (six).
Real Madrid have won 10 of their last 12 Champions League games (D1 L1) and each of their last five. They last won six on the bounce in the competition between April 2014 and February 2015 (a run of 10).
The Spanish giants have won nine of their last 10 UCL home games (L1). However, their only defeat during this period came against English opposition (3-2 vs Chelsea in the 2021-22 quarter-final).
Predicted line-ups:
Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, Camavinga, Valverde, Kroos, Modric, Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Akanji, Silva, Stones, Rodri, Grealish, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Haaland.
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