UCL: City vs Madrid

Real Madrid will be looking to overcome a 2-1 first leg defeat as they head to Manchester City for the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 on Friday night. Man City won impressively when they met at the Bernabeu in February, meaning Madrid has a lot to do if they make it to the quarter-finals of the arena again. 
Man City - UEFA Champions League

Man City will once again be absent from Sergio Aguero due to a knee injury, while Benjamin Mendy is suspended due to a yellow card that was caught in the first leg in the Spanish capital. Joao Cancelo started at left-back against Leicester City recently and it could be another case that replaced Mendy while Gabriel Jesus could continue to lead the attack. Eric Garcia has made a lot of appearances for City in recent weeks, but it is likely that Fernandinho could be summoned in center-back alongside Aymeric Laporte. Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan should join De Bruyne to form a three-man central midfield while Mahrez could receive a nod to Foden and Bernardo Silva to start with Jesus and Raheem Sterling in attack. It would be fair to say that this is not the season Man City fans have been hoping for, In addition to giving up the Premier League trophy for Liverpool, they also suffered a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final. Pep Guardiola's side lifted the EFL Cup with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa in March, but it would have been a disappointing campaign if it was the only title they had in 2019-20. The British giant is holding a 2-1 advantage from the first leg at the Bernabeu when Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne scored to help them win. They ended their Premier League season with a dramatic 5-0 win over Norwich City, which saw them finish 81 points, 18 behind champions Liverpool in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola's side lifted the EFL Cup with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa in March, but it would have been a disappointing campaign if it was the only title they had in 2019-20. The British giant is holding a 2-1 advantage from the first leg at the Bernabeu when Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne scored to help them win. They ended their Premier League season with a dramatic 5-0 win over Norwich City, which saw them finish 81 points, 18 behind champions Liverpool in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola's side lifted the EFL Cup with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa in March, but it would have been a disappointing campaign if it was the only title they had in 2019-20. The British giant is holding a 2-1 advantage from the first leg at the Bernabeu when Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne scored to help them win. They ended their Premier League season with a dramatic 5-0 win over Norwich City, which saw them finish 81 points, 18 behind champions Liverpool in the Premier League.

Real Madrid - UEFA Champions League

On the Madrid side, the inspirational captain Ramos will miss the suspension due to the red card being caught in the first leg at the Bernabeu. Therefore, Eder Militao can pair with Raphael Varane at center-back, while Ferland Mendy will receive a nod to Marcelo at left-back. Federico Valverde could start on the bench as Toni Kroos and Luka Modric have both been in impressive form since their post-pandemic return in the midfield while Zidane favors Karim Benzema with Marco Asensio and Eden Hazard despite both. Both players have had injury problems this season. Hazard has only scored 1 goal for Los Blancos this season and did not participate in his final match against Leganes on July 19. However, the former Chelsea attacker was in full training. before this battle, and be able to take over the left corridor.