Real Madrid vs Manchester City preview

September 17, 2012
By: Frank Beresford

With La Liga and Premier League champions meeting at the start of the new Champions League campaign, we should witness an ultimate entertainment at Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid go into this game on the back of yet another defeat, their third in six games this season, with the poor start of the season clearly a cause for concern.

This time los Blancos were not only beaten by Sevilla, but failed to score a single goal at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, which was certainly a major blow to the players’ confidence.

Even though Jose Mourinho was expected to rest some of the starters for the Manchester City game, he resisted the temptation to do so, but that did not help his side record a good result in Seville.

Los Blancos now face another difficult fixture, even if odds of 1.70 (7/10) offered at Ladbrokes suggest the hosts should have an easy job on Tuesday evening.

Jose Mourinho is set to make some changes to the starting line-up, with Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and Fabio Coentrao all likely to start.

Should Alvaro Arbeloa fail to recover from an ankle problem, Michael Essien could start at right-back.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Casillas – Arbeloa, Ramos, Pepe, Coentrao – Alonso, Khedira – Di Maria, Modric, Ronaldo – Benzema.

For the second time in a row, Manchester City have been placed in the Champions League group of death, with European giants Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax all in their group.

Last season, the Citizens were beaten to the second place in the group by Napoli, and they certainly hope to fare much better this term.

Roberto Mancini’s side can take some confidence into the clash at Santiago Bernabeu, namely because they are still unbeaten this season, even if they could have done better to bring more points from the travels.

However, after surviving Anfield and Britannia Stadium, two of the most difficult away grounds in the Premier League, the Citizens are 2.20 (6/5) with Paddy Power to continue their unbeaten run.

Sergio Aguero is back in contention after recovering from a knee injury, but he is unlikely to start, while Gareth Barry also returns.

Micah Richards remain a long-term casualty, whereas Kolo Toure has not been registered for this year’s Champions League.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Hart – Maicon, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy – Y. Toure, Garcia – Milner, Tevez, Silva – Balotelli.

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