How Man City should line up against Real Madrid in the Champions League

Manchester City take on Real Madrid in what is set to be a mouthwatering encounter on Tuesday.

City will meet the reigning European champions in the semi-finals of the Champions League once again just a year on from their heartbreaking elimination from the competition to the same team at the same stage. The Blues collapsed in added time at the Bernabeu and will be hoping to exact revenge this time around.

Pep Guardiola's side go into the meeting full of confidence after stretching their unbeaten run to 20 games with a 2-1 win over Leeds on Saturday and maintaining their lead at the top of the table. Though Madrid spent their weekend claiming a 20th Copa del Rey triumph by defeating Osasuna, they are far off the pace in La Liga and sit 14 points behind leaders Barcelona.

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City were able to rest several key players against Sam Allardyce's side but once again weren't able to keep their squad fully fit for long. Nathan Ake was making just his second start since returning from a brief spell on the sidelines with a hamstring strain but appeared to suffer a relapse of the injury and limped off in the 54th minute.

There was optimism that the injury wouldn't be too serious but the Dutchman was not involved in the open training session with the rest of his teammates and is a major doubt for the trip to the Spanish capital.

MEN Sport writers have selected the starting XI they would pick to face Madrid and you can choose your own in the widget below.

Kevin De Bruyne was back in top form at the weekend and must stay in the team for the Champions League. Erling Haaland has to be in there too despite surprisingly playing 90 minutes against Leeds.

Ruben