All eyes will turn to Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Wednesday as the UEFA Champions League hosts a finely poised last-16 second leg tie between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
Real has everything to play for as the Spanish giant trails the French league leader by just one goal. The host side will be cheered on by a crowd of 60,000 – the biggest since the coronavirus pandemic started.
However, coach Carlo Ancelotti will have to figure out a way to set up his midfield that will face a pumped-up Lionel Messi, who gets another good chance to finally come through with a big performance for PSG and live up to his status after joining from Barcelona.
Real will be without its Brazilian midfielder Casemiro through suspension, while Toni Kroos and Federico Valverde are listed as doubtful because of health issues.
Young Frenchman Eduardo Camavinga will likely go into the midfield alongside Luka Modric and possibly Valverde, who missed the Liga game against Real Sociedad last weekend.
The 19-year-old Camavinga played well in that match, scoring a superb opening goal in the 4-1 victory that increased Madrid’s lead in the league. He had Casemiro by his side, though, which will not be the case against PSG.
PSG, on the other hand, will hope its star player Kylian Mbappe will be fit after getting hurt during a training session Monday.
Initial medical exams showed the injury wasn't serious and Mbappe was named in the squad, but PSG said his fitness would be reassessed closer to the match.
Mbappe, who scored the winner in the first leg, has been linked with a move to Madrid when his contract expires at the end of the season. The Frenchman has been in stellar form with 24 goals and 17 assists in all competitions.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino will be without former Madrid defender Sergio Ramos and Spaniard Ander Herrera because of injuries, and Achraf Hakimi, another former Madrid player, was listed as doubtful.
Madrid eliminated PSG at this stage in 2018 en route to winning the title for the third year in a row, although the French club came out on top in the two previous knockout encounters between the teams.
Madrid is the record 13-time European champion, while PSG is seeking its first Champions League trophy.
Holding a big lead from the first leg, City has the luxury of being able to rotate its players amid a busy run of fixtures in three competitions as the season reaches the business end.
Defense is the area where Pep Guardiola has few options, though, with right back Kyle Walker serving the second match of his three-game suspension, Ruben Dias out for up to six weeks with a hamstring problem and fellow center back Nathan Ake also nursing an injury.
It is up front where Guardiola may make changes, with the game coming three days after the Manchester derby in the Premier League – with City beating United 4-1 – and the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Jack Grealish looking for game time after returning from injury.
City will reach the quarterfinals for the fifth straight season unless something sensational is produced by Sporting, which is more likely to come into the match in damage-limitation mode after its thrashing three weeks earlier in Portugal. Since then, Sporting had a home loss to rival Porto in the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semifinals.
