How Man City Could Line Up vs Real Madrid As Guardiola Appears to Confirm Starters

• Pep Guardiola rested a majority of his starters over the weekend as he prepares to face Real Madrid
• Jack Grealish, John Stones and Ruben Dias were among the stars accorded a full rest
• Nathan Ake's availability remains in question after he hobbled off with what looked like a hamstring issue

Football neutrals will be treated to a tasty Champions League encounter as Manchester City face Real Madrid in a double-legged semifinal over the next 8 days.

Pep Guardiola will be looking to qualify for only his second final as City's boss but to do so; he will have to get past a side that knocked him out last season at this very stage.

The Premier League defending champions will be hoping that a repeat of the late comeback from Los Blancos won't happen again this season. They head into the tie on the back of a splendid run in the league, but as history shows, Madrid always conjures something up when it comes to Europe's elite competition.

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Stocked with Erling Haaland and a near impossible-to-beat formation of 3-2-4-1, Guardiola will fancy his chances in the Spanish capital and in Manchester.

As MEN reports, his latest game against Leeds United might have provided subtle indications of who will start on Tuesday night. City survived a late scare from Sam Allardyce's men to take another step to winning a fifth league title in six years.

Haaland surprisingly lasted the entire duration of the game alongside Julian Alvarez. Kevin De Bruyne was also given a full 90 minutes after missing the last two games through injury. Haaland and De Bruyne are sure starters on May 9.

City's lineup vs Real Madrid

Jack Grealish, John Stones, Ruben Dias and Rodri were also given rest, but the Spanish holding midfielder came in the latter stages as Leeds threatened to cause an upset. The quartet is also in line to start from the word go against the record Champions League winners.

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First-choice goalkeeper Ederson is among the starting eleven despite giving way in midweek.

Nathan Ake's resurgence this season could have seen him become a sure starter, but the Dutch centre-half picked up an injury on Saturday. His involvement remains in doubt, paving way for Kyle Walker.

Vinicius Junior plan

Last season, Walker managed to keep Vinicius Junior silent, with the Brazilian only finding space after Walker went off injured. Manuel Akanji similarly did well against the pacy Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry and could be called upon to deal with Vinicius.

Bernardo Silva was also rested, and he could play either in the right wing or alongside De Bruyne should Guardiola choose to drop Gundogan. The Spanish manager wasn't too impressed that his captain missed a penalty against Leeds and clearly ignored him after he took him off, per Sky Sports.

Should Gundogan be dropped, that will open a chance for Riyad Mahrez to slot in.

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City's possible line-up; Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Mahrez, Silva, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland

Guardiola's issue with Gundogan

Sports Brief reported that Gundogan has disclosed that Pep Guardiola went mad in the dressing room after he missed a penalty during Man City's Premier League clash against Leeds United.

Gundogan was City's match hero during the Saturday clash as he scored a brace to steer the Citizens to a vital win.

Gundgogan had a chance to bag a hat-trick with six minutes left, only for the ex-Dortmund star to fluff the chance from the penalty spot.

Erling Haaland looked destined to step up to take the penalty but opted to hand the ball to his captain - much to the disappointment of Pep Guardiola.