Man City predicted lineup vs Real Madrid - Champions League | OneFootball

Manchester City face a familiar Champions League foe over two legs, but their upcoming duels with Real Madrid will merely decide who advances into the round of 16.

These two clubs have combined for the previous three Champions League crowns, with Madrid's victory on penalties in the quarter-finals last season arriving after back-to-back semi-final tussles.

However, City's woes and Madrid's mixed league phase means the pair failed to qualify automatically for the last 16. The Cityzens' punishment for finishing 24th in the table was a play-off tie against either Madrid or Bayern Munich, and the draw-makers handed them the trickier of the two potential outcomes.

The supreme quality of recent matchups may not be matched over the upcoming tie, but defensive issues in both camps means goals - and a lot of them - are an inevitability.

Here's how City could line up for Tuesday's first leg at the Etihad Stadium.

Man City predicted lineup vs Real Madrid (4-2-3-1)

Savinho inspired Man City's victory over Club Brugge in their final league phase outing / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages

GK: Ederson - Guardiola's chopped and changed between the sticks all season, with neither goalkeeper particularly impressive. Ederson is an injury concern, but he could come back into the team if deemed fit.

RB: Manuel Akanji - The Swiss defender featured at full-back during City's treble-winning campaign but has almost exclusively been used centrally since. With the hosts healthier at centre-back, Pep could use the athletic and powerful Akanji out wide in a bid to shun Vinicius Junior.

CB: John Stones - Stones has gotten plenty of minutes under his belt in recent weeks, and Guardiola is thrilled to have the Englishman back. He'll need to rediscover some vintage form on Tuesday night.

CB: Ruben Dias - Dias shared the load with Stones at the weekend after returning from injury and has a major role to play in taming Madrid's superstars over 180 minutes.

LB: Josko Gvardiol - The versatile defender was rested completely on Saturday and heads into Tuesday's first leg fresh. Gvardiol remains a key attacking outlet, and Madrid are very much aware of the threat he supplies in and around the box.

CM: Mateo Kovacic - Rodri has been included in City's Champions League squad for the knockouts, but no miraculous comeback is on the horizon. Kovacic, who was excellent on Matchday 8 against Club Brugge, has a mammoth task in midfield.

CM: Bernardo Silva - Deadline Day arrival Nico Gonzalez took a knock at Leyton Orient and is a doubt for the first leg. If he isn't good to go, Guardiola will task the experienced Bernardo with holding Kovacic's hand.

RW: Phil Foden - Foden stepped up on the big occasion last season, and the Cityzens could do with a statement performance from the reigning PFA Player of the Year here.

AM: Kevin De Bruyne - The Belgian superstar is preparing for his tenth game against Los Blancos, and he's previously played major roles in any City success. De Bruyne has eight career goal contributions in this fixture.

LM: Savinho - The summer arrival turned the tide against Brugge to help City qualify and is their best option down the left flank. He'll likely be up against makeshift right-back Federico Valverde in this one.

ST: Erling Haaland - Guardiola has an alternative option in attack following the arrival of Omar Marmoush, but the Egyptian will likely be used off the bench on Tuesday. Haaland is a shoo-in to start after earning respite at the weekend.