One win

-      One win puts us through to the Champions League final.

-      One win sees us retain the Premier League title.

-      One win sees us lift the F.A. Cup.

 

Let’s start by ‘avin’ these tonight!

 

v Real Madrid

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 9/11)

A very fluid 3-2-4-1 / 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3:

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

Grealish___________________________________Silva

 

_________Gundogan___________De Bruyne_________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Akanji____________________________________Walker

____________Dias_______________Stones__________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Carson, Ortega, Lewis, Gomez, Laporte, Phillips, Robertson, Foden, Knight, Palmer, Mahrez & Alvarez.

Ederson keeps the gloves.

A melding / interchangeable back-3 / 4 consists of Manuel, Ruben, John & Kyle.

Rodders is the main defensive midfielder but may well be joined by John on occasions.

Advanced of the 26-year-old is likely to be Jack, Ilkay, Kevin & Bernardo.

Erling to head the lot.

I’ve just realised, that’s the same starting 11 as in the first leg.

Two keepers on the bench in the form of Scott & Stefan; Rico, Sergio & Aymeric are the defenders on the side. We might not see a ‘full 12’ in reserve but if we do, that would include Kalvin, Alex, Phil, Ben, Cole & Riyad as the midfielders / wingers waiting for their chance, while Julian is the back-up striker.

Notable absences:

-       Benjamin Mendy – Suspended by the club until further notice.

-       Nathan Ake – When asked about the fitness of our players our managers said that except Nathan everyone else is fit. It sounds like the Dutch international misses out tonight, which I thought might be the case.

Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?

With a slight concern about the recent number of game-minutes in-form, 32-year-old Ilkay has put in; that looks absolutely fine to me.

Result? I think it’ll be another very close one and it’s so hard to call.

However, we’ve got the ‘bit between our teeth’ at the moment for sure and at home; I can see us progressing to the final. It’s a City win for me.

Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:

Prediction: Win

Result: Won

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: A sunny afternoon continues into the evening but a fair amount of accompanying cloud doesn’t allow the temperature to get above a measly 14C. Then, as the sun dips, so does the temperature to around 11 or 12C post-match. No weather conditions that will affect play but fans with a long walk after the game might want to consider bringing /wearing a light jacket for the homeward journey.

Solidarity