Real Madrid (H) Pre-Match Thread

Match Result vs Real Madrid (H)?

  • Total voters
    527
Status
Not open for further replies.
malg said:
We're in the driving seat against Madrid, so no excuse there.

Then it's one off games. I'd back us against anyone in a one off. The two leg games are a fucking nightmare.
Click to expand...

Most backed us against Arsenal in FAC Semi. That was a much more winnable trophy and we blew it.

I've got no predictions for the Madrid game but what I am sure of is that the team will need to believe they can put Real Madrid out because they (City) are the better team.

City will also need to have their most error free and clinical set of games ever to win the UCL this year. It's a huge ask given the teams that we are likely to face but someone has to win we might on our day be the best team in Europe but it's only might be, IMO.

A number of reasons exist as to why we may not win the UCL. The only thing inexcusable if we do not win is the players not busting a gut in every game.
 
Why would Pep change the system from the 1st leg and start with a more attacking one?

Given our problems at CB, Rodri plus Gundy is about a system capable of providing stability, not about individuals. Gundy can play at DM, Silva can't. A formation with Silva instead of Gundy and a proper 9 instead of a false 9 would be doubly removed from the formation Pep started with in Madrid.
 
Last edited:
Real Madrid will not go down without a fight. It's whether we finally have the mentality to prove we can handle this stage and get the job done. On paper they need to score twice without conceding. Sounds fairly tough. But get one early and watch how we react...

Otamendi and Laporte should be our two centre backs. Benzema likes the physical battle and Otamendi should be the man to deal with that. Walker and Cancelo at full back. Rodri and Gundogan behind De Bruyne and Sterling, Bernardo and Jesus ahead.

Mahrez tends to retain the ball better than Sterling, which is why he was picked in the first leg, but I think Sterling should start ahead of him this time around as his pace can help us on the counter. It was when Sterling came on that we started to really dominate. I think Bernardo gives us good control on the ball and will play the right pass which is my concern with Mahrez.

When we have the likes of Mahrez, Silva, Foden on the bench things are pretty good. Aguero... does anyone know whether he'll be back. Makes the bench incredible in terms of options to find a goal.
 
lionheart said:
Sorry but Otamendi is not really good enough on current form. Dinho can do a job on Benzema, ably assisted by Rodri, who is a physical machine.
Click to expand...

Otamendi struggles with pace but Benzema isn't going to do him in that regard. Against a guy that likes to hold the ball up and challenge in the air Otamendi is the best bet. He played the full game in Madrid and did a good job. His form hasn't changed, he'll always struggle against pace. Ferny hasn't looked the same since the return in my opinion. He's a great person to bring on.
 
supercity88 said:
Otamendi struggles with pace but Benzema isn't going to do him in that regard. Against a guy that likes to hold the ball up and challenge in the air Otamendi is the best bet. He played the full game in Madrid and did a good job. His form hasn't changed, he'll always struggle against pace. Ferny hasn't looked the same since the return in my opinion. He's a great person to bring on.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but you could have the likes of Hazard or Vinicius Jr. running at him. How confident would you be then?
 
JRockBlues said:
Yeah, but you could have the likes of Hazard or Vinicius Jr. running at him. How confident would you be then?
Click to expand...

Again...he played the first leg and was solid. City as a team sat back and didn't look to press the ball until it came into midfield. We remained compact and defended as a team. The goals we concede tend to be from a lack of defending as a unit. Where we press in some places and not in others and leave the opposition with a nice hole through us to run at our defence. Whatever our back four is, our defending in that circumstance is Walker chasing the man with the ball and the others scrambling into position. It doesn't matter who we play we look awful defensively in that situation.

We should have Rodri in a position to assist the defence against a Hazard or Vinicius running at our centre backs. If they get in a position to run at Otamendi then the rest of our team has failed somewhere. Garcia and Fernandinho would struggle anyway, as would Laporte.

There's a real lazy assessment of our defence from fans. If anyone watches Liverpool you'll see their defence is reliant on the pace of their midfield and full backs. Pulisic's goal midweek came from a long ball that Gomez didn't deal with due to Abraham. Gomez is a shite defender. Against City Pulisic would then be in, with Walker scrambling back and he'd get a shot on goal. Against Liverpool, Trent, Robertson and Van Dijk all got back into position quickly but Pulisic used his skill to score still. Gomez' is the weak link but they get away with it. If Otamendi gets the right support from the rest of the team he doesn't have to do anything but marshall the defence and do the physical battle with Benzema.

We don't have the benefit of such pace in our back line. Cancelo is pretty quick though so I think that will help us look more balanced defensively.
 
Remember,we mauled this team in Madrid, play with the same energy and I don't see how they beat us, too many guns.
 
lionheart said:
Sorry but Otamendi is not really good enough on current form. Dinho can do a job on Benzema, ably assisted by Rodri, who is a physical machine.
Click to expand...
Personally I think Otamendi has already played his last game for us, I think Garcia will get the nod.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top