A place in the Champions League final is up for grabs when Manchester City host Real Madrid in the semi-final second leg on Wednesday.
Kevin De Bruyne got on the scoresheet in the first leg in Madrid last week to earn a 1-1 draw for City, with the game hanging in the balance ahead of the second leg. It was a very even match-up between the two, though Pep Guardiola will be hoping his side's current run of form and home advantage could tip the game in their favour.
A place in the final is on the line for City who are looking to win their first-ever Champions League trophy, whilst Madrid will be looking to defend the title after being crowned victorious last year. City managed to rest the likes of De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and John Stones in their last outing prior to Wednesday's clash where Ilkay Gundogan netted twice in a 3-0 win over Everton.
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So, can City overcome Madrid to reach the Champions League final? We simulated the clash to find out. To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that City could line up in a 3-2-4-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Rodri, Stones; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland.
We predict that the visitors could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Camavinga; Valverde, Modric, Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius.
City controlled the first half in Madrid in the first leg, but it was the opposite at the Etihad with the visitors creating some big chances in the early stages. Manuel Akanji was struggling to deal with the threat down his side of the pitch, and Madrid stormed into a 2-0 lead after just 24 minutes.
The first goal was comical from a City point of view, with Akanji's pass intercepted by Rodrygo inside the box who fired through the arms of Ederson, who should've done better. Just nine minutes later, Rodrygo was involved again, this time setting up Federico Valverde.
After skipping past Akanji, the Brazilian pulled the ball back to Valverde, and the midfielder rolled the ball around Ruben Dias before curling his effort into the far corner of the net. Guardiola made three changes in the second half in an attempt to find a way back into the game, and in the 63rd minute, City halved the deficit.
John Stones glided through midfield brilliantly before spraying a pass out to Riyad Mahrez on the right, and the Algerian duped past Eduardo Camavinga to reach the byline. De Bruyne's burst into the box was picked out with a cutback from Mahrez, and the Belgian placed the ball into the far corner of the net with a calm finish to make it 2-1.
City started to grasp ahold of the game following their goal, but their momentum took a big blow with 10 minutes to go when Rodri was sent off for pulling down Vinicius Jr as the last man. Desperate to find an equaliser, City threw everything forward, and they were caught out in added time as Madrid added a third to take the game away from the hosts.
Karim Benzema was at the heart of the move, with the Frenchman latching onto a clearance to start a charge forward. Benzema played a one-two with Aurlien Tchouameni to ease past Akanji, and his drilled finish was too powerful for Ederson, nestling in the side netting to settle the tie.
FIFA 23 predicted score: Man City 1-3 Real Madrid ( Real Madrid win 4-2 on aggregate)
FIFA 23 predicts that City could be eliminated from the Champions League on Wednesday, losing 3-1 to Real Madrid and 4-2 on aggregate. The visitors' attacking talent proved too much for Guardiola's side to handle as City's wait for a Champions League continues.
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