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Manchester City take on Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night with Pep Guardiola set to rotate his squad slightly given their Premier League commitments as they bid to chase down Arsenal
Manchester City travel to Real Madrid in a crunch Champions League tie on Wednesday night with both sides aiming for a top eight spot in the League Phase.
The Blues were beaten 2-0 at home by Bayer Leverkusen in their last European fixture but have since reeled off three straight Premier League victories to cut the gap to Arsenal at the top of the table to just two points.
The trip to Madrid is the final Champions League tie before the Christmas break and if City can come away with a win it will leave them in a very strong position. Pep Guardiola's side are currently outside the top eight but will feel two wins from their final three fixtures will be enough to earn them a straight path to the knockout phase.
Madrid have knocked City out of Europe in each of the last two seasons but Los Blancos are a club in crisis just know with boss Xabi Alonso under severe pressure. The atmosphere could turn against the manager at the Bernabeu if City can get a foothold in the contest.
The Blues are likely to rotate a little given the crucial Premier League trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday and the busy nature of the December fixture list.
Gianluigi Donnarumma will start in goal while Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol look set to continue their partnership in the middle of defence. Nico O'Reilly has performed well at left back and it would be harsh to drop him for Rayan Ait-Nouri while on the other side, John Stones would potentially have come in on the other side but injury is set to rule him out. That means Mathues Nunes will likely continue.
In midfield, Bernardo Silva's experience could be crucial while Nico Gonzalez is a certainty given the injuries to Rodri and Mateo Kovacic. Rayan Cherki sparkled against Madrid but could drop to the bench to allow Tijjani Reijnders to operate in midfield.
Erling Haaland will lead the line and Phil Foden is playing too well to be left out. Jeremy Doku is the man in possession out wide but Guardiola spoke glowingly of Savinho after his appearance off the bench in the win over Sunderland and the Brazilian could well be given an opportunity from the off in Madrid.
Predicted City XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly; Gonzalez, Reijnders, Bernardo, Foden, Savinho, Haaland
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