At 03:00 in the morning on April 10th, Beijing time, the first leg of the Champions League 1|4 finals will stage a much-anticipated peak battle. La Liga giants Real Madrid will face the Premier League giants Manchester City at home. There is no doubt that this is a true matchup between giants. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a preview of this season's Champions League final.
Although Real Madrid is full of injuries this season, under coach Ancelotti's excellent operational adjustments, the team is still singing triumphant songs on all fronts. In La Liga, after the first 30 rounds, Real Madrid has 23 wins, 6 draws and 1 loss, with 75 points. Currently leading the La Liga standings with an 8-point advantage, Real Madrid is just around the corner to win the La Liga championship. In the Champions League, Real Madrid has also overcome obstacles all the way to the top 8. They face Manchester City in this game. If they can win, they can take a step towards the Champions League championship.
From the perspective of paper strength, Real Madrid is naturally not as good as Manchester City, and the total value of the team is far behind. In addition, the past confrontation records between the two teams show that Real Madrid has only achieved a poor record of 1 win, 1 draw and 6 losses in the last 8 encounters with Manchester City. It is not an exaggeration to say that Manchester City is Real Madrid's nemesis team. Therefore, although Real Madrid is playing at home this time, it is very difficult to defeat the enemy and win Manchester City. Despite this, it is expected that Anshuai will not give up easily and will definitely try his best to play with the strongest lineup in his mind.
As for the goalkeeper position, Lu Ning will naturally guard the Real Madrid goal; in the defense, as expected, Anshuai will continue to use the 4-back formation he is accustomed to, and there is a high probability that the four defensive generals who will start the game will be Ferran. -Mendy, Rudiger, Carvajal and Brazilian defender Militao who has just returned from injury. Among them, Rudiger and Militao will serve as a double central defender combination; while Ferland Mendy and Carvajal will serve as full-backs on the left and right. Militao returns to the defense after a serious injury. It remains to be seen how he performs.
As for the midfield, there is no doubt that the main midfielder who is responsible for interceptions and steals in Real Madrid’s midfield will still be the German midfield veteran Toni Kroos; and the one who partners with Toni Kroos to form a double midfielder combination should be French demon star Chuameni. In front of the two defensive midfielders, it is expected that England's talented demon boy Bellingham and Uruguay's popular international player Federico Valverde will attack hand in hand to form Real Madrid's frontcourt offensive core. The two form a double sword in the frontcourt. Together, they pass the ball to the team's forward line and deliver cannonballs. Among them, Bellingham is still the leader of the team's midfield, leading Real Madrid's frontcourt attack line.
On the forward line, there is no doubt that the one who leads the charge is the Brazilian genius star Rodrigo; and the one who forms the forward combination with Rodrigo should be his Brazilian partner Vinicius. The Brazilian twin stars work together, and Real Madrid's frontcourt lethality is worth looking forward to.
Based on the above analysis, it is finally expected that Real Madrid's starting 11 players against Manchester City will be: Lunin; Ferland Mendy, Rudiger, and Cava Hal, Militao; Toni Kroos, Chuameni; Bellingham, Federico Valverde; Rodrigo, Vinicius
