The new format of the Champions League has been successful so far. Now the knockout phase of the competition will begin. The reigning Champions from 2023, Manchester City are hosting Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium. Real Madrid are The reigning Champions. It’s the first leg of the round of 32. City has a lot of stuff to deal with and this will be a test of character for the players.
The Citizens defeated Leyton Orient in The FA-Cup over the weekend, 2-1, after being a goal down. City were demolished by Arsenal the week before In the Premier League (5-1). Pep Guardiola’s side are currently fifth in the PL standings, 15 points behind Liverpool. City finished at the 22nd spot in the league stage of the CL and hardly made it to the knockout stage. They came through on goal difference. It’s has been a challenging season so far for Manchester City. This season has been something of a mess, but City could start to turn things around starting this evening. The Citizens are unbeaten at home in the year of 2025.
Over the weekend Real had the Madrid derby at Santiago Bernabeu versus Atletico Madrid. The game finished one all after Kylian Mbappe scored the equaliser for Los Blancos. So Real Madrid are still first in the Spanish top tier. One sole point ahead of Atletico. The reigning Champions of the competition finished at the 11th spot in the League stage with five wins and three losses. Carlo Ancelotti was not happy with the fact that Los Blancos were not amongst the top eight teams in the League stage. We have not yet seen the best version of Real Madrid this season.
A couple of players are doubtful for Manchester City. Nico Gonzalez, Oscar Bobb, Jeremy Doku, Nathan Ake and Ederson. Rodri is out for sure. Carlo Ancelotti has some major problems regarding his defenders. Rudiger, Carvajal, Militao and Alaba are out.
PREDICTED LINEUPS: Man City: Ederson; Nunes, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Silva, Kovacic; Foden, De Bruyne, Savinho; Haaland. Real M: Courtois; Valverde, Tchouameni, Asencio, Mendy; Camavinga, Modric; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius Junior; Mbappe.
