Manchester City have an almost fully-fit squad for Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Real Madrid.
Pep Guardiola confirmed ahead of the semi-final second leg that Nathan Ake will be absent through injury but he is the only player missing for the Blues, and everyone else was spotted training on Tuesday in the build-up to the huge encounter.
It leaves City with a dilemma at left-back. Manuel Akanji seems like the most obvious choice to replace Ake, but the ex-Borussia Dortmund defender has underwhelmed in his last two matches, including in the first leg at the Bernabeu last week.
An alternative for Guardiola is Aymeric Laporte, who has struggled for regular minutes this season but has featured more often in recent weeks. Laporte impressed against Everton at the weekend and is more of a natural selection at left-back. The Spanish international is also left-footed, which could help with the team’s build-up play.
Other than that, it seems like City’s team picks itself and Guardiola confirmed on Tuesday that Kevin De Bruyne was rested at Goodison Park rather than injured. John Stones was also an unused substitute on Merseyside, while Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish came off the bench.
In addition, Guardiola managed to replace Ruben Dias, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan and Erling Haaland in the second half on Sunday. It provided a hint as to who could start against Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the semi-final second leg.
With all that in mind, here’s how we think City will line-up when Los Blancos come to the Etihad…
1. GK: Ederson
Will hope he doesn’t face any more thunderbolts on Wednesday, like the one scored by Vinicius last week.
2. RB: Kyle Walker
Was selected as the pre-match press conference player, often a sign he’ll start the following day.
3. CB: John Stones
Rested at the weekend and should be fresh to face Madrid as a result.
4. CB: Ruben Dias
In great form and will need to be at his best to keep Benzema quiet.