Manchester City will entertain Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium this Tuesday night as they hope to overturn a 3-0 deficit from the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie. The Mancunian giants were held to a 1-1 draw away at West Ham United recently, so they would be desperate to return to winning ways in midweek.
Pep Guardiola will set his players up in a 4-1-3-2 formation and is expected to make some tweaks to his first-team for this game. Ruben Dias and Rayan Cherki could both play from the start of this clash.
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4-1-3-2 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Real Madrid
Defence
Gianluigi Donnarumma will feature in between the sticks for the Mancunian giants after he conceded one goal in his last outing. Marc Guehi will resume his partnership with Ruben Dias at the heart of the Man City backline as they look to keep a good shape when defending inside their half.
Matheus Nunes will try to put in a solid performance at right-back, while Rayan Ait-Nouri looks to give a good account of himself on the other side as the left-back. Both of them will have to pick and choose their moments to join in on the attack.
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Nathan Ake will be named on the bench as he provides cover for the defensive positions on the bench.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 14: Jarrod Bowen of West Ham United is challenged by Erling Haaland of Manchester City during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester City at London Stadium on March 14, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Midfield
Rodri will anchor the midfield for Man City as he looks to protect his backline against the Real Madrid counters.
The gifted trio of Nico O’Reilly, Bernardo Silva and Rayan Cherki will play just ahead of him as Guardiola’s box-to-box midfielders. All three of them need to combine if Man City are to stand a chance of earning a convincing win this Tuesday night.
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Tijjani Reijnders, Nico Gonzalez and Phil Foden will be named on the bench as they wait for their chance to make an impact in the second 45 minutes if needed.
Attack
Antoine Semenyo and Erling Haaland will lead the charge for the Mancunian giants up top. Both of them will have to link up with each other well on the offensive end of the field if they want to get their names on the scoresheet this week.
Jeremy Doku and Omar Marmoush will be available for selection on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the final quarter if required.
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