Manchester City will face Real Madrid in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League play-off at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, February 19.

Real Madrid beat Cityzens 3-2 in the first leg last week at the Etihad Stadium and will start as a favorite to qualify for round 16.

Manchester City will be supported by a 4-0 victory over Newcastle United last weekend which pushed them to fourth position at the league table.

However, Real Madrid in the Champions League is always a completely different proposition and is not more difficult than that.

Manchester City vs Real Madrid: Modern Derby

The Cityzens has dropped Real Madrid or eliminated by the last in the history of the new Champions League.

In their three previous meetings, the winner of the tie had won the competition.

History shows that one of these teams will lift the trophy at the Allianz Arena.

Real Madrid has now won the Champions League title which surprised 15 times and often showed the ability to return from behind to win matches in the competition.

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Tactical shift

Therefore, Pep Guardiola must be very wise in choosing XI initially on Wednesday.

Omar Marmoush, a hero of the Hat-Trick against Newcastle, has risked the claim to play Xi.

However, to accommodate the Egyptians, Guardiola must play it with Kevin De Bruyne who can be understood as the middle attacking midfielder in the 3-2-4-1 formation.

It might also mean that Bernardo Silva had to play as a midfielder holding with Nico Gonzalez, who showed enough authority in the match against Newcastle last Saturday.

To face the Real Madrid midfield manned by Luka Modric and Jude Belllingham, City will need a strong core in their midfield.

The ruling premier league champions also need to strengthen the right side of their defense against Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe.

As a result, people might see John Stones playing as the central defender of the right side for Cityzens, with Ruben Dias in the middle and Nathan Ake as the center back of the left side.

Josko Gvardiol, who can start as a left back in 4-2-3-1, must overlap a lot to make the Cityzens formation 3-2-4-1, as he did against Newcastle.

Gvardiol overlaps on the left side must give a marmoush of freedom and opportunity to move inside and attack through the left channel.

He enjoyed taking a shot from the edge of the opposition penalty box, which should be a powerful weapon for his team.

Antonio Rudiger, Real Madrid central defender, who skipped the first leg because of injury, had to enjoy Titanic’s battle with Erling Haaland.

De Bruyne’s ability to find Haaland by passing through and the cross must come as the main feature in Manchester City attacks.

The Premier League title is everything that is done for the Guardiola people this season. This is an opportunity for them to improve by winning the Champions League title.

Beat Real Madrid – UCL winners last season – and qualifications for round 16 will be the first stepping stone for it.

It still needs to be seen whether City can tame the lion in its nest on Wednesday, February 19.

Main photo

Credit: Imago / Crystal Pix

Recording Date: 11.02.2025