Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini is most definitely preparing his side ahead of the crucial Champions League Semi-final clash against his former employers Real Madrid, in a bid to waltz past the Spanish giants on their way to the finals of the illustrious competition.
The Citizens can take pride in being the only English team left in the UCL this season, and they’ll be hoping they can go all the way and bring the trophy back home to the Etihad for the first time.
Pellegrini has done well to set Manchester City on the right track in terms of the Champions League, although their League campaign hadn’t been as smooth, probably because UCL is their top priority this season.
But despite that, City have come back to the Premier League with a bang as they’ve started replicating the performances that saw them named as title favourites at the outset of the season.
Manchester City’s road to the Semis has been somewhat straightforward as they managed to go past their opponents with relative simplicity.
Although most would argue that they were lucky to have come out victorious against PSG as the Quarter-Final triumph could be attributed to an impressive performance from injury returnee Kevin De Bryune.
But now City are faced with the toughest game of their season which could go either way depending on City’s reaction and counter-reaction to events that occur during the match.
It’s quite evident that Real Madrid are on another level entirely regarding their calibre, but that doesn’t mean City can’t get a good result against them across both legs.
The city also possesses talented players who can tear any opposition apart if given the time and space to do so.
But Manchester City should be aware of the fact that they might not get enough of the ball in the game so they’ll have to make the most out of the little amount of possession they’re able to conjure up during the classic showdown.
Real Madrid orchestrated an emphatic comeback in their last La Liga outing against Rayo Vallecano, which kept them propelling in the title race going into the end of the season. 
They came back from 2-0 to win the game 3-2 which seems to have given us an idea as to what Real Madrid are capable of.
There’s some good news for the Manchester City supporters and players alike, as the phenomenal BBC Strikeforce might be reduced to just BB in the first leg of the encounter as Cristiano Ronaldo is a huge doubt for the game.
The record-breaking forward didn’t feature for his side against Vallecano due to a minor injury problem, but it remains to be seen if he’ll play a part in the first leg.
What does City need to do to take the Spanish giants down
Manchester City’s defensive line-up has been somewhat shambolic in the past couple of months with Nicolas Otamendi being the only bright spark in City’s leaky defence.
Pellegrini will have to tighten his defence and make his side nearly impossible to break down; he could do so by putting a competent Midfield player in front of the back four to wave off potential threats and keep Madrid at bay.
It quite important that the players with defensive duties stick to their positions determined to avoid being caught on the break by Madrid’s speedsters.
Regarding their attacking lineup, Sergio Aguero will be quite decisive in the game with his impressive goal scoring ability as well as his eye for a pass.
If anything, Sergio Aguero seems like City’s most important players going into the game, but lest we forget, a world-class performance from Joe Hart could be the key in keeping Real Madrid at bay.
We’re in for an exciting Semi-final encounter between two of the most potent offensive lineups in Europe, with a lot of pressure and expectation riding on the game, the victory could come down to who handles the occasion better.