Real Madrid head into their Champions League tie with Manchester City in the knowledge that they will be facing an incredibly motivated team, especially with a number of the Blues' key players out for revenge at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.




It was back in 2016 when Manuel Pellegrini steered the Blues to the semi-final of the Champions League, which is a feat that Pep Guardiola has yet to repeat since taking charge at the Etihad Stadium.

In what remains one of the more forgettable Champions League semi-finals in living memory, Los Blancos scored the only goal of the entire 180 minutes through Gareth Bale, leaving Sergio Aguero, Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva and Raheem Sterling still searching for continental glory.

Not only are the English club out for revenge, but there is the added motivation that Guardiola has due to the fact he has never won the competition without Messi, and this may well be Manchester City's only chance for two years as their continental ban hangs over them like a dark, grey cloud of despair.

With the Premier League title race all but over, the Champions League is now all that City have to play for in terms of major trophies this term, and Real Madrid must be wary of a motivated side full of stars.

Conversely, things are going from excellent to iffy for the Spanish giants, with two poor results in a row seeing Los Merengues surrender their place at the top of LaLiga Santander, as well as the fact Eden Hazard will be out for another extended period through injury.

This only serves to make the Spanish club's task all the more challenging when they welcome Manchester City to Madrid, and it promises to be a much better advert for football than the last meeting.

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