Real Madrid face Manchester City tomorrow evening.
Los Blancos welcome the Premier League side to the Santiago Bernabeu to contest the second leg of the Champions League semi-final. It’s as big a game as they come.
And Madrid are in a good mood going into the tie having won La Liga with four games to spare at the weekend following their 4-0 defeat of Espanyol at the Bernabeu.
City won by an identical scoreline against Leeds United at Elland Road, of course, and do hold the advantage of having won the first leg at the Etihad Stadium 4-3 before travelling to Spain.
Despite that, Madrid are confident they can pull off another comeback, just like they’ve done against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in the last 16 and quarter-final of the competition.
They have, however, been dealt a blow before the game according to Diario AS and Caught Offside. David Alaba hasn’t recovered from his injury and won’t be fit to start the game.
The Austrian centre-back and Madrid’s medical team have worked tirelessly to ensure he made it back in time for the game but it’s not been enough. Nacho will instead start beside Eder Militao.
The other three absences in the final training session before the match were Isco, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard. Isco’s absence was unexplained while both Bale and Hazard are injured.
Alaba, 29, joined Los Blancos on a free transfer from Bayern Munich during the summer of 2021 and has quickly established himself as a key player. He’s played 45 games so far this season, contributing three goals and four assists.
