Why will Kyle Walker and Nathan Aké not play for Man City against Real Madrid?

Guardiola has been dealt an injury blow

Manchester City won’t have their defensive duo of Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake for tomorrow’s mouthwatering Champions League encounter with Real Madrid. It has been confirmed now that neither has traveled with the squad to Madrid, leaving Pep Guardiola short on defensive options.

The Sky Blues play the first leg of the quarter-final clash at the Santiago Bernabeu tonight, as the European giants lock horns in the competition for the third year in a row. Madrid beat City en route to lifting the title in 2022 before City exacted revenge last year before lifting the cup.

As much as the holders are looking to repeat the trick, their task will be cut off without two of their key defenders. Ake picked up a calf injury early on into their Premier League clash with Arsenal in the weekend before last. He was subsequently left out of their squad to face Aston Villa and Crystal Palace too.

Meanwhile, Walker sustained a hamstring injury while on international duty with England against Brazil in a friendly game. He hasn’t fully recovered from that yet, missing all three of City’s games post the break. Both he and Ake, are expected to return only at the end of the month.

Guardiola could either opt to stick to the three-man defense he used against Palace or Rico Lewis could take the right-back spot if the Spaniard reverts to a back-four. Josko Gvardiol has been included in the squad and could start too.

City and Madrid unbeaten for a long time

Manchester City and Real Madrid are both unbeaten for a long time, making their latest encounter worth looking forward to. Since their 1-0 loss to Aston Villa in the Premier League, City have gone their next 25 games in all competitions without losing, winning 21 in the process. On the other hand, Los Blancos are unbeaten in 13 matches, winning nine. Both teams are in top form right now and could contest another epic European counter over two legs.

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