Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
When Manchester City were paired with Real Madrid in the Champions League Semi Final Draw they would have initially be disappointed but on further thinking it’s probably the match up that suits Manuel Pellegrini’s side the best
That’s because a pairing with Atletico Madrid would have meant it would have been notoriously difficult to break down their Defence while if it was Bayern vs Manchester City then there would have been countless column inches being written about Pep Guardiola facing off against his future employers (although that could still be a feature in a couple of weeks time)
But going up against Real although they could face Cristiano Ronaldo on his return to Manchester who is a slight injury doubt they will also feel that there are goals to be had for themselves and it could make for a very interesting and open encounter over these two legs.
City are looking resurgent as of late, 5 games unbeaten in the league with 4 of those coming as wins has seen them leapfrog Arsenal into 3rd place while in the last round they disposed of French Champions PSG with an excellent performance at home in the 2nd leg. If they were to ever meet a team of Real’s calibre then now is the time.
They brushed past Stoke in a routine 4-0 win on Saturday Lunchtime in what was almost perfect preparations for Tonight’s clash. The only blot on that win would have been the injury of Yaya Toure who will be set to miss out after limping off.
If one of their spine is missing then at least that blow will be softened by the return of Vincent Kompany, he has only featured 20 times this season but he has said he is raring to go and will be a massive boost to City’s sometimes shaky back line.
Their opponents Real have injury worries of their own with both Ronaldo and Karim Benzema having to undergo late fitness tests. Ronaldo missed Los Blancos dramatic 3-2 win over Rayo Vallecano while Benzema hobbled off in the first half.
It was down to Gareth Bale to do the hard work on Saturday as his brace helped Real come from 2-0 down to win beat their cross city rivals Rayo. Bale firstly made it 2-1 and then snatched all 3 points for Zinedine’s Zidane side with a 83rd minute winner.
That win keeps them a point behind both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid and all of a sudden the chance of a double in Zidane’s first season as Manager still looks a possibility. No one would have even dreamed of that when Real were more than 10 points behind Barcelona a couple of months ago.
If Ronaldo and Benzema are missing then Bale is once again going to have to step up to the plate and current the attacking mantle on his own. You could argue that you see the best of Bale when that is the case, could it be a happy return to The Etihad for Bale. He was part of the 2010 Tottenham side which secured Champions League football on this ground after beating City 1-0.
If Real are missing two of their attacking trio then it could very well be advantage City in the first leg – but even as Wolfsburg proved a first leg advantage could easily be wiped out at The Bernabeu. I’ll go for a Draw with Real getting at least 1 crucial away goal.
Papa Johns – If your team scores twice then it’s half price
