CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Manchester City team news: Kyle Walker injured for Real Madrid clash
City beat Los Blancos on their way to last year’s Champions League triumph but will be without key players for the rematch at Santiago Bernabéu.
On Tuesday Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabeu, the site of some of the most engrossing Champions League games of recent years. In 2022 Real Madrid conjured a staggering late comeback to eliminate City. Last year a stunning long-range drive from Kevin de Bruyne secured a hard-fought draw for Pep Guardiola’s side, en route to their first European title.
Across those games, with many of the world’s finest players on show, the duel between Kyle Walker and Vinicius Junior has been particularly crucial. Walker’s pace has helped City to keep the irrepressible Vinicius fairly quiet but Guardiola will be without the Englishman on Tuesday.
Walker picked up a hamstring injury while away on international duty last month and has not featured in any of City’s last three games. He was absent from training again on Monday and will not travel with the team for the first leg in the Spanish capital.
Who will play in defence for Manchester City?
The absence of Walker would be a major blow for Manchester City as they look to retain their European crown. His pace is a real-time insurance policy for City, his ability to recover crucial in halting rivals’ counter-attacks. Real Madrid - with a fluid frontline of Vinicius, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham - are well-placed to exploit the tiniest chink in a defensive armour and City may be without other first-choice defenders.
In addition to Walker, fellow defenders Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol also missed City’s training session on Monday and Ake has not travelled for Tuesday’s game. Gvardiol has made the trip to Madrid, but it is not clear if he will be fit enough to play. If Walker, Ake and Gvardiol are all unavailable Guardiola will be left with just three senior defenders at his disposal: Ruben Dias, John Stones and Manuel Akanji.
Pep Guardiola opted to start young midfielder Rico Lewis in a hybrid right-back role in last weekend’s win over Crystal Palace but it remains to be seen if the 19-year-old will be trusted to take on Vinicius. City go into the tie as favourites to progress but three key defensive losses could serve to level the playing field and give Madrid the opportunity to make more Champions League magic at Santiago Bernabéu.