“Madrid’s demands tell you that we need to prepare another game on Tuesday and with this we prepared with enthusiasm”, said coach Carlo Ancelotti, after the victory in the Cup final in Seville.
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The Merengue team didn't have time to celebrate the title, which the club hadn't won since 2014, to turn the bracket towards the Champions League semi-finals.
“It's the most difficult opponent you can have, but we have confidence and we will try to win,” midfielder Toni Kroos said on Saturday.
Real Madrid, who eliminated City in the semi-finals last year and in the 2015/2016 season, believe they can repeat the feat and, to do so, will try to advance their classification at the Santiago Bernabéu, with the support of their fans.
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A small advantage
“We have a small advantage in the first leg, as we will play with 12,” Ancelotti recalled on Saturday, referring to the Real Madrid fans.
The attacking trio formed by Karim Benzema, Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior will face the dangerous Erling Haaland, the Champions League's top scorer this season with 12 goals.
The young Norwegian star is five goals away from equaling the record of 17 goals in one edition of the continental tournament, achieved by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2013/2014 season.
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Haaland is also the top scorer in the English Championship with 35 goals, two more than Real Madrid's three strikers combined in the Spanish Championship.
The Norwegian appears to be the biggest challenge for Real Madrid's defense, which has shown some signs of fragility in recent games, although Ancelotti was satisfied on Saturday with the team's defensive performance.
David Alaba returned to the team against Osasuna, after recovering from a muscle injury, and is expected to form a central defense partnership with Éder Militão against City.
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Keeping an eye on Haaland
The English team trusts Haaland to finally win the title that is missing from their trophy cabinet.
Coach Pep Guardiola rested several players at the weekend, in the victory over Leeds United in the Premier League, which the 'Citizens' lead by one point over Arsenal.
Against Real Madrid, the team will be able to count on all its main names, as Belgian midfielder Kevin de Bruyne is recovered and started against Leeds.
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After that game, German striker Ilkay Gundogan stated that “we have to take advantage of our moment and keep winning”.
“We have a lot of respect, yes, but no fear. Why should we be afraid of them?”, added, in turn, Bernardo Silva, about Real Madrid.
City were eliminated from the Champions League last season on a magical Real Madrid night at the Santiago Bernabéu in the second leg of the semi-finals. This time, the return will be in Manchester and the English team's mission is to get a good result from Spain to decide the match at home.
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