Real Madrid vs Manchester City: Preview | UEFA Champions League 2022/23

Kartik Jain
By Kartik Jain
3 Min Read

Manchester City will head to Spain’s capital in search of Guardiola’s coveted trophy. The Blues would be yearning for revenge after losing the semi-final to Real Madrid last year, despite winning the first leg 4-3. They crumbled when they headed to the Santiago Bernabeu, losing 3-1 thanks to an outstanding Benzema performance.

While Real Madrid are coming off a great win against Osasuna in the Copa Del Rey finals, Manchester City themselves have their head held high after winning convincingly against Leeds United and maintaining the top spot of the Premier League table.

When & Where?

Date: Tuesday, May 9.
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu – Madrid, Spain.

Team News and Preview

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Manchester City will have to weather the Rodrygo storm. The young Brazilian has scored braze in two important games; one being the second leg of the quarter-finals against Chelsea while the second being finals of Copa Del Rey. Two big games and two bigger performances; surely a man of important matches just like his compatriot Benzema. And for an Ake-less City, it won’t be easy to keep them quiet.

Both teams have an important defender missing from their starting XI. While it is confirmed that Eder Militao will be watching first-leg from the sidelines, Manchester City’s Ake could well do the same. The Dutchman was seen limping off the pitch in Man City’s latest win over Leeds and has been living with injury concerns the whole season now.

Guardiola has not lost or drawn a single game after their stalemate against Bayern in Germany. He may well carry this confidence ahead but along with the scare of setting an unwanted record. If City are to lose the semis, Guardiola will be the first manager to have lost seven Champions League Semi-Final as a manager. Currently, he stands tall yet not so, alongside Jose Mourinho with 6 semi-final exits.

Predicted Lineups

Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Manchester City: Courtois; Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, Camavinga; Valverde, Kroos, Modric; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.

Manchester City predicted lineup vs Real Madrid: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland.

Match Prediction

We say: Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City

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Real Madrid well may be in red hot form but Manchester City would be licking their lips to face the Militao-less Copa Del Rey champions.

A first leg could easily swing either way but with Haaland in the helm, we can be assured that mistakes like last year won’t be repeated by City and they will sweat every pounce of their body to take the game away from Real Madrid.

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