Real Madrid (H) - Wed 17th May, 20:00 | Pre-Match Thread

[Kippax77]

I see this being 3-1 or 4-1 City.
The results yesterday have put us in a really good place, and we just look so strong at the moment all over the pitch.
The atmosphere will also help us smash them.

 

[super_city_si]

I think it will be the same team. I could see a case for mahrez but think Bernardo will get the nod based on him missing Everton (mostly)

 

[super_city_si]

I also find it interesting how few people choose Foden in their starting lineup. A few months ago he would have been one of most people’s automatic choices to start. Yet there is no denying the form book. Grealish has been brilliant recently and deserves to start.

On the subject of Grealish, he seems to have developed a bit of a short fuse lately. He was at it again yesterday. He needs to watch himself against Real Madrid as they will be targeting him with their shithousery.

Grealish isn’t a short fuse. He just mouths off constantly, goading the opposition. He doesn’t retaliate just keeps it to verbals

 

[jrb]

Rested 9 players at the weekend.

 

[Jimmieblue]

Very eloquent for two?

For me and my departed Dad really, but so many people will be in the same place and feeling like me on Wednesday.

 

[marco]

Rested 9 players at the weekend.

rested or disrupted the team momentum,it may well backfire on them esp with us bouncing from the Everton win and the Arsenal cock up,going into this fixture if we had lost at Everton with Arsenal winning i would have been worried,not now i'm going for a 3-1 win

 

[Baggins.mcfc]

I was unfortunate enough to be at the Bernabeau for their game against Getafe on Saturday. An absolute snoozefest as they rested the majority of their key players. 100 euros for the priveledge too.

Not to mention the thousands of empty seats!

Didn't Camavinga come off injured though?

 

[johnnyjohnnystones]

My gut feeling is that a World Cup winner comes off the bench to win the tie in extra time.

Would rather it not come to that to be honest, won't be keen with a level score or 1 goal in it at the end. We're way better than them but for some reason they play like 2011/12 City in extra time.

 

[Kinkys Left Foot]

They will sit in (again) hoping to hit us on the brake (again). I expect us to play with miles more tempo this game and the decision has to be Mahrez or Bernie wide right. Bernie is good at containing and ball retention but Mahrez has shown he can score at this level and tie anyone, including Camavinga, in knots in one on one situations. Perhaps Bernie 1st half Mahrez 2nd. I want to see us pass the legs off Modric and Kroos with accurate ball retention and speed of pass, once they slow down we can capitalise with a lack of press in their final third. I think then Carlo has to change them and their bench isn't all of that. Will wait to see if its Valverde or Rodrygo and who out of Alaba, Rudiger and Millitau who miss out or who starts. If we make this a really fast tempo the squad quality will matter and I think ours, off the bench, is better.

Erlings going to have to be better than he was in the first leg and cannot allow Rudiger or Millitau to bully him out of the game. I want to see him properly put himself about against either of those 2 wankers and rough them up a bit. Invariably bullies don't like their own medicine. A nice forearm accidental smash in the chops would be lovely.

The Key match ups are the same, Walker has to be bang on it against VJ and Jack has to get into that **** Carvajal. Id take a yellow just to ram the twat into the hoardings first tackle see how he fucking likes it. We all know he'd pretend to have been chinned by Mike Tyson in his pomp the softarse. Got away with fucking murder in that 1st leg. If Ake is fit I think he starts and is a bit more effective linking up with Jack in forward areas, if not though Akanji's pace is a good matchup for Rodrygo. I'd like Jack to terrorise him running him up and down and laterally for about an hour before Fodens fresh legs come on and empty him. We need KDB to be absolutely up for this and they didnt like us running at them from deep midfield areas. They made some utterly filthy fouls to stop us getting at their back 4. I think we can hurt them doing this consistently through the 90 minutes. Getting one of Kroos, Carvajal or Camavinga on a yellow early would be priceless.

If we can do it all, we'd have beaten the Rags, the German Rags and the Spanish Rags with a chance of playing the Italian rags in a final.
Come on blues we can do this - its our time!

 

[ManCityGR!]

Didn't Camavinga come off injured though?

He trained normally today I heard.