In the past decade, Man City and Real Madrid have met four times in the Champions League knockout stages (three semi-finals and one quarter-final). Real and City meeting so early is not the perfect scenario for UEFA, but in a season where the English representative has had many incidents, it is good that this match is being re-enacted.
Man City are going through the most difficult period of the Pep Guardiola era. Meanwhile, Real Madrid are still stumbling in the most prestigious playground in Europe. This match is a reunion of two giants who are hurting in the Champions League. They are forced to eliminate each other to once again prove their worth.
This is the first time in Pep's era that Man City have been rated lower than Real Madrid. Except for the recent win over Chelsea, the other matches of the Etihad team in the past 3 months have been quite bad, even the wins are not perfect. Meanwhile, Real have revived their form and are sweeping La Liga, leaving their arch-rival Barcelona far behind after a period of being surpassed by their opponents.
In previous matches, Real Madrid have always been the more proactive defensive team and waited for the opportunity to counterattack. This match could be different as Los Blancos have a superb attacking quartet. As for The Citizens, as long as Ruben Dias is not back, their defense will remain very fragile.
The first leg between the two teams is in about 10 days' time. Pep Guardiola is praying for as many key players to return as possible. City could register all three new players for this match, but it is likely that only Omar Marmoush will be available.
As for Real Madrid, their greatest strength since the start of the season has been the speed of their attack. Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo Goes and Kylian Mbappe will be a threat to any defence in Europe at the moment. With the firepower of Jude Bellingham supporting them from behind, Carlo Ancelotti's army is full of enthusiasm.
Real Madrid know that after Man City (if they win) will be Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen. They need to beat Man City to qualify for the next round and also have a chance to threaten the next opponents. Therefore, this is a very meaningful match for Real Madrid this season. They are on the comeback track and certainly do not want to stop right before the round of 16 of the Champions League.
In the last 3 seasons, when Real Madrid won the Champions League, they "stepped over the dead body" of Man City and vice versa. Pep never said that he would set a goal of winning the championship, but he understood that if he beat Real, Man City would be put back in the top candidate position. In a season where they are almost out of the race with Liverpool in the Premier League, focusing on the Champions League would be a reasonable move for the Spanish strategist.
Man City will have their first time playing in a counter-strategy against their arch-rivals. It will be a very different version of Pep and his students against the mighty Real Madrid.
