Real Madrid Predicted XI Against Manchester City: A Tale of Two Managers

Manchester City are fully capable of beating Real Madrid, so the first leg of Los Blancos’ Champions League Round of 16 tie will be must-see.

Real Madrid have come off of a very hard defeat as they lost 1-0 to Levante which saw them lose their first place spot in the league and saw Eden Hazard back on the injury list. Now, they must put that all behind them as they take on Manchester City in this mammoth UEFA Champions League tie on Wednesday night.

Let’s not kid ourselves; Manchester City are capable of beating Real Madrid. Add to that the fact they have been banned from the competition for the next two seasons and have nothing to play for in the league and you get yourself arguably the most dangerous Manchester City side in recent years.

Zinedine Zidane will have had time to think about how to approach this match but that can only do so much after Los Blancos failed to win on Saturday night while they have El Clasico to worry about on Sunday.

Goalkeeper:

For someone who has been in absolutely breathtaking form during the past couple months, it was a little worrying to see him make the mistake that he did against Levante earlier in the week. However, that shouldn’t change anything about his starting spot on Wednesday night as Thibaut Courtois will need to bounce back from his mistake and show his best form against The Citizens.

Defenders:

There isn’t much that Zidane can do to change things around here. It would have been nice to see Eder Militao start on Saturday while giving either Varane or Ramos some rest but that wasn’t the case on the night.

Dani Carvajal will be expected to take his place on the right with the partnership of Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos in the center. Marcelo played for the second time in a row earlier this week but Ferland Mendy is expected to be back in the lineup. He missed the Levante game due to being in danger of suspension for El Clasico if he got booked.

Midfielders:

Here is where Zidane can change things around a little bit. Carlos Casemiro will and should start while having Toni Kroos in front of him. Next to Kroos is where question marks start to arise a little but the best choice would definitely be Federico Valverde who Zidane has counted on during some of the biggest matches this season. Luka Modric will be on the bench and can come on to change the dynamic a little depending on how the match progresses.

Forwards:

Here is where Zidane can and probably should change things up a little bit. Since this is a predicted lineup, I will have to take the slightly safer option and say that the manager will probably go with a front three of Gareth Bale on the right, Vinicius Junior on the left and Karim Benzema up front. However, that may not be the best option given the current form of Bale and Benzema.

Maybe the manager should come out with an unexpected surprise and have Luka Jovic start? The Serbian has not been picked for the past two games and even though he may not be prepared for such a big match, his killer instincts are highly valuable against a Manchester City side who won’t let you have many chances.

Full Predicted Lineup:

Thibaut Courtois, Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Ferland Mendy, Carlos Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde, Gareth Bale, Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema