Premier League giants Manchester City will face their Spanish counterparts Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium for the first leg of their UCL semi-final clash on Tuesday without their star midfielder Yaya Toure. The Ivory Coast international picked up a muscle injury during the Citizen’s 4-0 win over Stoke City on Saturday.
As a result, manager Manuel Pellegrini is expected to start the Brazilian duo of Fernando and Fernandinho at the midfield, just like he did in both legs against French giants Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the competition.
The Chilean manager confirmed the news at a pre-match press conference:
“I think Yaya is going to be out, he has not recovered from the muscle injury. I don't think he will be ready for Sunday's game at Southampton and we will have to see about the second leg next week.’’
About the Brazilian duo, he added:
“The two Brazilian lads have played well whenever they have played together, against Roma and when we knocked PSG out this season, so I am very confident what they can provide for us."
Meanwhile, captain Vincent Kompany has reassured the club’s fans that he is ‘100%’ fit to face the Spanish giants. There were reports doing rounds in Manchester suggesting that the Belgium international was unavailable for selection due to injury. However, in his response, he explained:
“I’m 100% fit - everything went well and, as always, unfortunately when you’re injured you have to work a lot harder than the rest and that’s what I did,” he declared.
“We play against one of the greatest clubs of all-time. Our support tomorrow will be able to make the difference. If they turn up, I’ve never seen a City team not perform when the fans turn up.
“Otherwise, what’s the point of buying a ticket? That’s what we need from them.”
Addressing the injury concerns, he added:
People talk about my injuries, I talk about my comebacks. People mention 14 injuries to my calf, I talk about 14 times I come back.
“It takes a lot of character to do that, to be able to come back and play at this level I will focus on the positives and that’s me coming back and doing the right things.
“I will only blame myself if it’s for a lack of effort which has never been the case.”
The two sides will clash at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, then meet at the Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg a week later.
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