In a highly anticipated clash of two powerhouses, Real Madrid and Manchester City meet at the Santiago Bernabeu for the first leg of the Champions League semifinal.
RMA vs MCI Match Details
Date: Tuesday, 9 May 2023 / Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Time: 20:00 (BST) / 00:30 (IST)
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
RMA vs MCI Match Preview
Real Madrid received their second piece of silverware this season in the form of Copa Del Rey, a trophy they won for the first time since 2014. In excellent scoring form, Rodrygo brought the victory for Carlo Ancelotti’s side over Osasuna in the final with a brace on either side of Lucas Torro’s thunderbolt equalizer. The Brazilian also scored twice in the 2-0 quarterfinal second-leg win over Chelsea last month, 4-0 on aggregate, in the Champions League to progress to the semifinals. He will continue to join Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr in the frontline to get past an English side in the knockout stage of the competition for the third straight time. Los Blancos will look to feature in yet another Champions League final for a successful title defense so they can add a second trophy this campaign after losing the La Liga race to arch-rivals FC Barcelona. Facing a rampaging treble-seeking Manchester City is never an easy task but Real has proved to be an unimaginable force when it comes to Europe. Having progressed to the showpiece from four of their last five seasons when they reach the semis, the holders will be quite optimistic about their chances having already defeated the Premier League champions at this stage in one of their unreal comeback wins to their triumph last season.
The prestige of Real Madrid in the competition is the main thing that will bother Manchester City at this moment even with their destructive nature. The 2-1 win over Leeds United draws them closer to a third consecutive Premier League success and fifth in total with four games remaining, keeping a point lead above second-placed Arsenal, but Pep Guardiola’s men are desperate to add the Champions League to their collection. They came close to winning it in their first-ever European final in 2021 and were denied the chance by Los Blancos in the semis last season so those downfalls will serve as a motivation here. With Erling Haaland clocking the best scoring ratio in the history of the competition with a high 12 goals so far this season, City are looking more ruthless than ever shoving away the challenge from two German clubs in Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig in the previous stages with a combined score of 12-2. However, the side has managed only one away win in Europe this season drawing the last four games of five. Manager Guardiola has also suffered six Champions League semi-final eliminations, joint-most alongside Jose Mourinho, so will be wishing his side to have a good start in the Spanish capital. City’s 2-1 success here back in 2020 will be a reminder of that.
Recent Form (all competitions)
RMA: WLWLW
MCI: WWWWW
Recent Form (Champions League)
RMA: WWWWW
MCI: DWWDW
RMA vs MCI Team News
Real Madrid are without their center-back Eder Militao due to suspension after picking up his third booking at Stamford Bridge in the quarterfinal second-leg game. Ferland Mendy has not been included in the squad due to a calf issue keeping Eduardo Camavinga at the left-back spot. Midfielder Dani Ceballos has made the group despite struggling with a quadriceps problem while Luka Modric is also back from his hamstring injury after featuring as a substitute in the Copa Del Rey final at the weekend.
Nathan Ake is a notable absentee from Manchester City’s travelling squad going down with an injury in the win over Leeds. In his place, right-back Kyle Walker has been called up to deal with fiery winger Vinicius Junior on his flank. Rodri, John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish are set to be recalled to the starting XI having given a rest in the last game in the Premier League.
RMA vs MCI Predicted Lineups
RMA: Thibaut Courtois; Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga; Federico Valverde, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric; Rodrygo, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr
MCI: Ederson; Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji; John Stones, Rodri; Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish; Erling Haaland
RMA vs MCI Head to Head
RMA won - 3
Draw - 2
MCI won - 3
(In Champions League)
RMA vs MCI Dream11 Team prediction
GK: Courtois (8)
DEF: Akanji (8), Dias (8), Alaba (8.5)
MID: Valverde (8.5), De Bruyne (9), Gundogan (8.5), Modric (8.5)
FW: Benzema (9), Haaland (9), Vinicius (9)
Vice-captain: Karim Benzema
Captain: Erling Haaland
