Man City and Real Madrid combined XI with more than £600m worth of mega-stars including Varane and De Bruyne
MANCHESTER CITY take on Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 clash tonight.
Pep Guardiola’s side lead 2-1 from the first-leg at the Bernabeu thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne.
But with nearly FIVE months having passed since that night in the Spanish capital, it’s all to play for back in Manchester.
Ahead of the big game, we’ve drawn up the best combined XI – only using players who are available for the Etihad showdown.
With Sergio Ramos suspended and Sergio Aguero injured, there are a couple of big-name omissions.
But who does make the cut in a team worth a staggering £627million?
GK – Ederson
Team: Man City
Value: £50m
IN a straight shootout between Ederson and Thibaut Courtois, there was only ever going to be one winner.
Courtois was the best goalkeeper in LaLiga last season, based on clean sheets, beating Atletico Madrid star Jan Oblak.
But along with fellow Brazilian Alisson, there is no better stopper than Ederson right now – who won the Golden Glove in 2019-20 himself.
RB – Dani Carvajal
Team: Real Madrid
Value: £36m
FIGHTING it out with Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo, Carvajal was the obvious choice at right back.
The Spaniard is a regular in the Los Blancos team, while Guardiola is desperate to fix his leaky back-four, despite spending hundreds of millions on defenders since his arrival.
CB – Raphael Varane
Team: Real Madrid
Value: £54m
THERE are few better centre-backs in the world than Raphael Varane.
Aymeric Laporte aside, there is no City star even close to the Real Madrid veteran.
CB – Aymeric Laporte
Team: Man City
Value: £58m
LAPORTE, when fully fit, is an elite defender and fully deserves a spot in this team.
But he may be somewhat lucky to make the cut, with Ramos a near-certainty for the XI had he not been sent off in the first leg and suspended for the Etihad clash.
LB – Ferland Mendy
Team: Real Madrid
Value: £36m
IN the battle of the Mendys, Ferland beat Benjamin to the spot here.
Guardiola is unsure of his best left-back, it seems – with Oleksandr Zinchenko and Angelino also playing this season – making Ferland the clear winner.
CM – Kevin De Bruyne
Team: Man City
Value: £108m
THE best central midfielder on the planet. Period.
In a crowded field of world superstars, no one comes close to De Bruyne in terms of passing, vision and composure… he’s got a pretty decent shot on him too.
CM – Rodri
Team: Man City
Value: £58m
A TOUGH decision to make in the deeper midfield role, but Rodri sneaks in ahead of Casemiro.
The City man enjoyed a solid debut season and will surely only improve.
CM – Luka Modric
Team: Real Madrid
Value: £11m
A STRAIGHT shootout between Los Blancos pals Toni Kroos and Modric, it’s the ex-Tottenham man who gets the nod.
The 2018 Ballon d’Or winner continues to defy his age to put in classy performance after classy performance.
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RW – Raheem Sterling
Team: Man City
Value: £115m
SEEMINGLY improving every year – at a rapid rate, too – Sterling easily makes the cut in this XI.
The England ace beats the likes of Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr and Gareth Bale to the punch – valued at £115m by Transfermarkt.
ST – Karim Benzema
Team: Real Madrid
Value: £29m
WITH Aguero out of the game, it was a straight fight between Benzema and Gabriel Jesus.
The Frenchman comfortably wins that battle, in no small part thanks to his sensational form since the season restart.
LW – Eden Hazard
Team: Real Madrid
Value: £72m
THE former Chelsea man called 2019-20 the “worst season” of his whole career, due to a spate of injuries and taking time to settle into life in Spain.
But on his day there are few better wingers than Hazard, who easily takes the left-wing spot.