Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Manchester City | OneFootball

The knockout playoff stage of the UEFA Champions League has left Real Madrid with two extra games in the competition, something they could have avoided had they finished in the Top-8 in the league phase.

Last week, they engaged in the first of two legs of the pre-Round of 16 eliminator against Manchester City and took home a special 3-2 win.

Tomorrow night, the second 90 minutes kick off at the Santiago Bernabeu and the only objective on the night will be to secure a place in the final 16 of the tournament.

As the reigning kings of Europe, it would be an embarrassment to see Real Madrid exit at such an early stage in the competition. Needless to say, they simply cannot afford to go down losing tomorrow night.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Manchester City.

Twin advantage

Manchester City’s loose defence presented Real Madrid with many a chance in the first leg last week.

While the hosts were ahead for most of the night, however, a late surge from Los Blancos saw them score twice in the final ten minutes and turn around a 2-1 deficit to a 3-2 win.

The result at Etihad Stadium, thus, presents the men in white with two vital advantages ahead of the second leg – the venue and the aggregate score.

For starters, the reverse fixture – at the end of which one team will be eliminated from the competition – is set to take place at Santiago Bernabeu and having a full stadium behind their backs will help the Merengues pull through.

Further, it is massive for Real Madrid that they enter the game with a one-goal lead on aggregate for it means that even a draw on the night will be enough for them to qualify.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men will undoubtedly go out all guns blazing to kill the game off at the earliest, but the fact remains that the home and score advantages leave the men in white at massive favourites.

Defensive changes

Ready to go. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

Of the many talking points ahead of Real Madrid’s first leg against Manchester City was the emergency situation in defence.

On the night, Ancelotti did not have the services of David Alaba or Antonio Rudiger available and had to start the central defensive pairing of Aurelien Tchouameni and Raul Asencio.

The duo did well to cover and keep Manchester City largely at bay. Ahead of tomorrow’s game, however, there is a massive development as Rudiger has been declared fit to start.

Needless to say, the first dilemma Ancelotti must resolve is whose place the German star takes at the Santiago Bernabeu. While both options are possible, it would appear more natural for Asencio to partner Rudiger in defence.

In such a scenario, Tchouameni can return to his natural position in the defensive midfield and look to provide a commanding display from his niche.

Concurrently, however, is the issue at right-back where Lucas Vazquez is still not fit to start after missing the first leg. All signs point to Federico Valverde starting in his place once again.

Contrasting weekends

Real Madrid garnered a lot of praise for their win over Pep Guardiola’s side last week and were once again hailed as mentality monsters for the way they dominated against Manchester City.

The story of the Premier League side and Real Madrid after that game, however, is quite contrasting.

After the 3-2 defeat to the Merengues, Guardiola’s men hosted Newcastle United in a critical Premier League game and churned out a 4-0 win over the seventh-placed team in the standings.

Omar Marmoush, Ilkay Gundogan, Nico Gonzalez and Phil Foden all starred on the night, and the men in blue appeared defensively stable and threatening in attack.

Needless to say, the presence of Marmoush and Nico who did not start against Real Madrid made a massive difference to the team’s stability.

Los Blancos, meanwhile, dropped points against Osasuna in a game where Jude Bellingham was controversially sent off and even lost the lead in La Liga with Barcelona overtaking them on goal difference.

It thus remains to be seen which team actually nestles the momentum tomorrow. After all, the team that won the first leg experienced a more rough result at the weekend.