Real Madrid: 3 reasons to be worried about the Man. City clash

MADRID, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 25: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) head coach Zinedine Zidane of Real Madrid smiles ahead of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match against Manchester City at Valdebebas training ground on February 25, 2020 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 25: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) head coach Zinedine Zidane of Real Madrid smiles ahead of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match against Manchester City at Valdebebas training ground on February 25, 2020 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by DeFodi Images via Getty Images) /
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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 25: Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero of Manchester City share a joke during a training session ahead of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match against Real Madrid at Manchester City Football Academy on February 25, 2020 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 25: Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero of Manchester City share a joke during a training session ahead of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match against Real Madrid at Manchester City Football Academy on February 25, 2020 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

2) Manchester City have extra motivation

Manchester City has the extra motivation for this tie right now compared to Real Madrid. City is almost completely out of the premier league title race with Liverpool running away with the title. Bar a complete collapse from Liverpool (which looks unlikely), the only major title Manchester City can pin their hopes on is the Champions League. This means City will put their maximum effort in this tie to progress and not end up without any major honors this season.

There are also rumors of Pep Guardiola most likely leaving/fired if he fails to win the Champions League this season. Add to that their situation with UEFA, regarding a ban for the next two seasons from all UEFA competitions, it’s clear that City has a lot riding on their shoulders going into this tie.

Los Blancos also face FC Barcelona in La Liga after the first leg of the Manchester City clash. The whites have lost their pole position and now sit behind their eternal rivals by two points. There’s a good chance that the game will be on the back of the mind of every Madrid player’s mind, as winning that one will allow Los Blancos to get back up on top.

All in all, mentally, City just looks to have higher motivation for this tie than Real Madrid.