[Sports] Real Madrid v Manchester City: 'Pep Guardiola's side cannot afford to switch off'

[BirSaNN]

"Don't make a mistake."

That's what the Manchester City players will be thinking to themselves when they face Real Madrid on Tuesday, and they cannot afford to switch off for a single second.

I was working at Leicester's crucial game against Everton last week and the match analysts for both clubs were sitting next to me. I said "look lads, put your monitors down - it's not about tactics tonight, it is just about avoiding any errors".

That was a Premier League relegation battle while this is a Champions League semi-final, but City versus Real is exactly the same scenario, just at a much higher level.

You can give players all the data you've got, and detailed instructions for how to play a particular role or deal with a certain opponent. All of that is important, of course, but they also know that if they suffer one lapse in concentration then the game has changed, and maybe even been lost.

That's what happened to City when they played Real in last season's semi-final. They were in full control of the tie heading into the 90th minute of the second leg… and they still didn't go through.

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How do City keep Vinicius Jr quiet?

We know this Real team can score a goal out of nothing and, especially in the first leg at the Bernabeu, City have to be extremely careful.

The first game was very open when they met last year but, this time, we might see City start out by trying to be tighter defensively.

That means keeping Vinicius Jr quiet and I think the two big decisions Pep Guardiola has to make are who will go up against the Brazil winger on the right for City, and who will play further forward on the same flank.

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The choice in defence is really between Kyle Walker and Manuel Akanji, but if Nathan Ake does not recover from the injury he sustained against Leeds on Saturday then it is possible Pep's mind will be made up for him.

He could go with the experience of Aymeric Laporte at left-back but I have a feeling he will pick Akanji because of how well he did against Bukayo Saka when he played there in last month's 4-1 win over Arsenal.

Ake did not train with the rest of the City team on Monday but, if he is fit, Guardiola has more options. He could use John Stones in his inverted full-back role, where he comes inside from right-back to become an extra man in central midfield, leaving Akanji to move out wide to the right to deal with Vinicius.

I think Guardiola would love to use that system at some point against Real, but he will be worried about their threat on the counter through Vinicius.

Walker's speed is the obvious way to deal with that and, as a natural full-back, I feel he has to be the answer there, whether Akanji is needed to cover for Ake or not.

link: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65525175