The hopes of La Liga giants Real Madrid of securing a first-leg advantage in their upcoming Champions League quarter-final tie with Manchester City have this evening been afforded a boost.
This comes after Pep Guardiola’s City squad bound for Spain was unveiled.
The two heavyweights of European football are of course primed to lock horns for the latest time on Tuesday night, at the Santiago Bernabéu.
After being sent packing by the Sky Blues in the semi-finals of the competition last season, Real Madrid, this time round, will no doubt have revenge very much in mind.
And, as alluded to above, Los Blancos’ chances of securing precisely that have today been afforded a boost.
This comes amid confirmation that two key members of Man City’s defensive ranks will not make the trip to the Spanish capital alongside the rest of Pep Guardiola’s squad.
The pair in question? Kyle Walker, and Nathan Aké.
Both are injured at present, albeit with it having been hoped that Walker and Aké alike would recover in time to feature on Tuesday.
This will not prove the case, however, with the former’s absence marking a particularly heavy blow, in City’s hopes of limiting Vinícius Jr’s impact on proceedings.
Manchester City’s official travelling squad to face Real Madrid:
Ruben Dias, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Rodrigo, Kevin De Bruyne, Stefan Ortega Moreno, Julian Alvarez, Bernardo Silva, Sergio Gomez, Josko Gvardiol, Manuel Akanji, Matheus Nunes, Ederson, Scott Carson, Phil Foden, Oscar Bobb, Mahamadou Susoho, Rico Lewis
Conor Laird | GSFN
