Manchester City top player to miss the UEFA Champions League vs Real Madrid

Pep Guardiola is worried about a number of defending injuries going into the first leg quarterfinal match at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid.

On Tuesday, Manchester City’s first game of the Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid will be played without at least two key defenders. A third player may also not be able to play.

Kyle Walker finished his own training on Monday, but he hasn’t gone to Spain because he wasn’t thought to be fit enough to play. Pep Guardiola might have to think outside the box to deal with Vinicius Jr., a fast Real winger.

Nathan Ake is another player he can’t use because he hasn’t played since leaving the game against Arsenal eight days ago with a leg injury. City’s defense is already thin, even without Josko Gvardiol’s possible departure.

The Croatian was taken off at halftime of Saturday’s 4-2 win over Crystal Palace because of a minor leg injury. He was not seen on Monday, even though he was on the traveling team. He has a late fitness test, and City is aware that Ruben Dias is only one yellow card away from being suspended.

After the quarterfinals, ticket bans are no longer earned, but a player who gets a red card is still out for the rest of the game. To escape being suspended, Dias has to make it through two legs against Real without getting a yellow card.

Because City’s defense is so thin, Guardiola doesn’t have much choice but to play him at the Bernabeu. Even though Rico Lewis is a very good player, putting him at right back against Vinicius might be too risky.

So, City’s manager might go back to the 3-2-4-1 setup that helped him win the league title last year. The return of Ederson, who hasn’t played since he hit Darwin Nunez in last month’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool, is good for City.

John Stones might be asked to play on the right side of the back three because he has played there a few times before. Dias and Manuel Akanji could round out the back line. Former Real Madrid star Mateo Kovacic may be asked to play with Rodri as a playmaker and help protect the defense. Stones probably won’t be able to roam around as much in this set-up.

When City’s defense was bad last season, Bernardo Silva was famously put in at left wing-back in a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest. He won’t be put in that position again. However, he might be asked to come back from the right side and add extra strength when Vincius Jr. comes up.

Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden should play in the attacking midfield positions in the middle, and starting Jeremy Doku on the left to face Dani Carvajal, who is 32 years old, seems like a good idea, even though Jack Grealish has played in Madrid before.

Because Erling Haaland is in “terrible” shape, he has only scored six goals in seven Champions League games this season. On Saturday, he scored his 19th Premier League goal against Palace. Even though he was being sarcastic, he didn’t score any of City’s five goals against Real Madrid last season. He will be eager to make things right.