Manchester City simply have to play for the win against Real Madrid | OneFootball

Manchester City will take on Real Madrid on Wednesday evening in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League knockout play-off tie. Real Madrid will take a 3-2 lead into the game at the Bernabeu after last week’s first leg at the Etihad. It does appear to be a case of stating the obvious but Pep Guardiola’s side will have to play for the win in Madrid.

Based on how Manchester City played and lined up on Saturday during their 4-nil win over Newcastle there is a case for Pep Guardiola to go in with almost the same starting eleven that comfortably dispatched Eddie Howe’s side. It does possess the attributes all over the pitch to potentially cause Carlo Ancelotti’s side problems.

Will Pep Guardiola start a similar starting lineup to the one that beat Newcastle?

With Manchester City needing to beat Real Madrid to progress you do think that there is merit in Guardiola starting Wednesday evening’s match with Erling Haaland, Savinho and Omar Marmoush up front. The trio showed against Newcastle that they have the potential to stretch the Real Madrid defence with their pace and quality. With Phil Foden playing in midfield behind them there does appear to be a synergy and energy that those four players provide Pep Guardiola’s side. Starting those four together would also leave Kevin De Bruyne on the bench in case he is needed for a game-changing cameo. It is an idea with some merit based on how we saw those four players perform against Newcastle.

It would appear that Nico is a certain starter at the Bernabeu. It’s almost impossible to envision him on the bench. The question would be who will start alongside him in City’s midfield? Ilkay Gundogan got the nod against Newcastle. Bernardo Silva seems to be the player who’d start with Nico. A midfield of Bernardo, Nico and Foden does look to give Pep Guardiola’s side the energy they need to take Real Madrid on in the midfield battle at the Bernabeu.

At the back, we saw Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake sit out City’s win over Newcastle. Pep Guardiola is hopeful that both players could play at the Bernabeu. But if they aren’t fully fit you do feel that the back four that played against Newcastle could do the job. John Stones and Abdukodir Khusanov do complement each other at centre-back. The pair showed that against Newcastle. Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol could do the job in the full-back positions based on how they played against Eddie Howe’s side. All told City’s defence does appear to be in better shape now than it was for the first leg at the Etihad last week against Real Madrid.

Summary

Manchester City have to play for a win against Real Madrid on Wednesday evening. Being down 3-2 in aggregate gives them no choice. You do feel that playing a similar lineup to the one that beat Newcastle gives City the best chance of doing exactly that.

It will take a monumental effort for Pep Guardiola’s side to overturn a deficit at the Bernabeu. But they have the players and manager who are capable of doing just that. They should also be full of confidence after last Saturday’s win. Another test against Real Madrid awaits Pep Guardiola’s side. But nothing is impossible. If they can get at the Real Madrid defence then anything can happen.