The outstanding tie of the play-off round of the Champions League is undoubtedly Real Madrid’s heavyweight match with Manchester City, but the 15-time winners of the Champions League will do more than just their opponents in the first leg on Tuesday in the Etihad Stadium.
The defending champion wiggled in the early stages of the revised first phase format before turning on the style when it was really important to drive past RB Salzburg and Stade Brest.
These two victories confirmed Madrid’s place in the Knockout-Round-Play-Off, with hope for a first-class finish that ended by defeating Lille, Liverpool and AC Milan.
Only a few would have predicted that City needed a victory to seal a top 24 on the last matchday, but that is exactly the Pep Guardiola page where Club Brugge called himself up in Manchester.
After City had followed the half-time, City came back and scored a 3-1 victory-like, the subsequent Champions League tuning, which they combined with Madrid for a draw that we got used to at the semi-finals.
Madrid are the favorites who are promoted in all competitions due to the continued City fights, but Carlo Ancelotti’s plans for the two -legged tie could be reduced to important players through suspensions. Jude Bellingham, Luka Modric, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga and Endrick are in the encounter with the first leg on Tuesday in Etihad.
Up to this point, the quintet has picked up two bookings from the Champions League and is forbidden for the second leg when you pick up another caution – Ancelotti goes to the same limit.
Bellingham is the best endangered player with his hand to achieve important goals at important times for Madrid’s success in big games. Modric continues to defy the time and in the meantime looks something different than 39 years old because he continues to check the games in the heart of the midfield.
Tchouameni and Camavavinga have both been asked to support Madrid’s defensive violation crisis in the past few weeks and months, and the talented French duo may be booked most likely in view of their combative roles.
Any forced absence for Endrick would not be catastrophic in this phase, since the Brazilian teenager still finds its feet in the Spanish capital and is located on the periphery of the first team, which plays unexpects such as Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo.