Real Madrid will certainly have a fitness and a freshness advantage over Manchester City when the two heavyweights clash on Tuesday night. Eder Militao, after spending eight months on the sidelines due to an ACL injury, made an appearance against Athletic Club last time out.
Now Militao could have a more increased role against City in midweek.
Manchester City vs Real Madrid FYIs
Kickoff: Tue. Apr, 8pm, El Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
Competition: UCL quarterfinals, Leg 1/2
Team News: Real Madrid Manchester City
Starting XI Predictions: Real Madrid Manchester City
90 Min Result Probability: Real Madrid 34% Draw 27% Manchester City 39%
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Real Madrid Team News
His return means that Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba (neither of whom will play again this season) are the only confirmed injury absentees on Tuesday night. Although midfielder Dani Ceballos is an injury doubt.
The aforementioned clash with Athletic Club occurred on Easter Sunday, which means that by the next time this UCL tie kicks off Madrid will have had nine days off.
City meanwhile played earlier today, beating Crystal Palace 4-2 in a Premier League fixture.
So that’s a pretty big disparity in regards to who will have the fresher legs. We’ll see how much of a difference it’ll make; if any.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.