"I want us to deserve to play in the semi-finals," says Guardiola as Real Madrid fixture arrives
By Hidayah Ali
After settling on a 3-3 draw last week, Manchester City and Real Madrid face off once again. This fixture needs to decide a winner of this quarter-final tie, and whoever that is, will become one step closer to reaching the biggest final in club football.
For Man City, a chance of a back-to-back treble remains alive, with the Cityzens now at the top of the Premier League table after a 5-1 win over Luton and then Liverpool and Arsenal both being unsuccessful in their games. The FA Cup semi-finals approach this weekend, where Man City take on Chelsea and prepare to achieve their first win over the Blues this season.
For now, the attention remains firmly on the Champions League and the big task that ahead of them.
The City squad have been faced with a few injuries, with the likes of Ederson, De Bruyne, Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake all missing out on the first leg.
Since then, Ederson and De Bruyne have returned to their starting positions, while Walker and Ake were in the squad that faced Luton Town.
However, it's unknown if Walker or Ake will start against Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Manager Pep Guardiola gave his thoughts ahead of the fixture, " We know we can handle momentum. We are going for it, we have a game plan we believe in, and we are going for it."
"If we lose, we lose. Real Madrid will deserve it. I want us to play and deserve to be in the semi-finals. The result was good, but we have to perform a little better."
"We need to feel the pressure - we don't want to lose the game. We need hunger to compete. It is true that we feel more comfortable because we have won (Champions League)."
"Real Madrid know us, we know them. We need the right mentality, be ready to suffer, always we had momentum. In that way always we can do it. We have to be prepared, some things we need to do better that we weren't good at in the first game."
Guardiola then talked about Kyle Walker, and what his current situation is; "I will see the training, the last one or two sessions he feels good, his face, his mood. Today (Tuesday) at 4 o'clock we have the last session, and we will decide. Of course, Kyle is important, his attributes and quality, everyone knows he is special."
If Walker is to feature or not, it remains to be decided. And while Guardiola assures the player feels good, he also mentioned in a previous interview that he doesn't want to risk any further injury for Walker.
Guardiola has also shown supporters his attitude towards this matchup, and it seems to be a mixture of confidence but awareness of what needs to be done to qualify.
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Man City Square Prediction
Manchester City 3-2 Real Madrid