City's UCL squad announced as Real Madrid fixture arrives
By Hidayah Ali
The Manchester City squad that will face Real Madrid on Tuesday, has been announced, confirming the 21 players that will either feature in the starting 11 or be placed on the bench.
After a successful meeting with Crystal Palace on the weekend, which ended 4-2 for the Cityzens, now they focus on their Champions League quarter-final against Madrid, the third tie between the top for the third season in a row.
Prior to this, the last two meetings came in the Semi-finals; the first one ending in heartbreak for City after a late comeback for Madrid, ending the tie 6-5.
Last season, City breezed through the second leg, with the first one ending 1-1, the return game saw City win 4-0, meaning 5-1 on aggregate.
A new story will be written by next week, which will either have City eliminating the Spanish giants, or a sad end to City's treble hopes.
Man City Squad
- Stefan Ortega Moreno
- Ederson
- Scott Carson
- Ruben Dias
- John Stones
- Sergio Gomez
- Josko Gvardiol
- Manuel Akanji
- Rico Lewis
- Mateo Kovacic
- Matheus Nunes
- Oscar Bobb
- Jack Grealish
- Jeremy Doku
- Rodri
- Kevin De Bruyne
- Mahamadou Susoho
- Julian Alvarez
- Bernardo Silva
- Phil Foden
- Erling Haaland
Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake are not included in the squad, due to injuries for the defenders.
The worry did arise after Pep Guardiola said the duo weren't able to play against Crystal Palace on the weekend, which suggested they also wouldn't be ready for Tuesday.
While they won't play this week, the club and their fans will hope that they will recover in time for the return leg, which will be next week.
As for another previously unavailable player, Ederson has returned and is included in the official squad for the fixture, but Pep also mentioned that he doesn't know if Ederson will start the game, due to lack of playing time.
Stefan Ortega has been filling in for the absentee, and there remains a high chance he might feature against Madrid, which would be a huge moment for the goalkeeper. While conceding three goals in his partaking games, he's kept clean sheets against the likes of Newcastle United, Liverpool and Arsenal, which will definitely be a confidence boost if he's to start on Tuesday night.
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Man City's predicted line-up:
Ederson, Rico Lewis, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, De Buryne, Foden, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland
Real Madrid vs Manchester City starts at 20:00 (UK), on Tuesday the 9th of April.