How Pep Guardiola could solve his Man City right-back problem vs Real Madrid

Manchester City welcome Real Madrid to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday evening for a Champions League semi-final first leg encounter, and Pep Guardiola has an unusual problem to solve.

Following an intense schedule over the past few weeks, a combination of injuries and suspension means that the City boss might be without his top three right-back options for the visit of the 13-time European champions.

Joao Cancelo is suspended for the first leg after picking up a yellow card against Atletico Madrid two weeks ago, while Kyle Walker and John Stones have not trained for over a week now due to ankle and muscular injuries respectively.

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That means that Guardiola might have to get creative with his team selection. So, assuming that he sticks with the usual 4-3-3 formation with a designated right-back, who could he pick to fill the role?

Yes, Zinchenko is left-footed, but as he has shown with his transformation into a left-back he is more than willing to play wherever Guardiola sees fit. His right foot is good enough to play on the 'wrong' side of the field, although admittedly it may be a slightly awkward fit.

However, Joao Cancelo has set the precedent for a full-back playing on the opposite side to their stronger foot, so there's no reason why a left-footer can't play on the right.

Like Zinchenko, Ake could no-doubt do a job on the right, even if slightly uncomfortably. If Guardiola decides that he wants his left-back to be more attacking than the right-back - as is the case when Cancelo and Walker start - then it would make sense to keep Zinchenko on the left and put Ake on the right.

Ake has shown off his pace in recent weeks with a number of