Barcelona is out of the Champions League semifinals, but the Final Four are still able to produce two huge matchups with potential history-making moments for teams and players.
The first of the two semifinals starts on Tuesday, when the Etihad Stadium will be home to the first ever Champions League semifinal in Manchester City history, and the Citizens will face the winningest club in European Cup history, Real Madrid. Los Blancos are the favorites to advance to the Final, but two major injury worries might alter the fate of the tie.
Superstar strikers Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema both suffered injuries in La Liga duty over the last two games. The Portuguese goalscorer left the match against Villarreal with a muscle injury, while the Frenchman had a very worrying knee problem during last Saturday's encounter with Rayo Vallecano. Both are expected to travel to England, but remain doubtful to play at the moment. If they aren't available, coach Zinedine Zidane has two huge absences to replace, and the Citizens could take advantage.
Manuel Pellegrini's squad is healthier, but one major component of the team is also doubtful: star midfielder Yaya Touré was replaced in the final minutes of this weekend's match against Stoke City with muscle problems, and he is highly doubtful to recover in just two days to play the first leg. Samir Nasri is also rushing to recover from a muscle issue himself, and remains in doubt. Defensive midfielder Fernando has a knock in his knee, but is expected to play. All other squad members are healthy and available.
Since the yellow cards have been wiped out at the completion of the quarterfinals, no players are in risk of missing the decisive leg in Madrid unless there is a red card during this Tuesday's game.
While nothing is official, this is the list of players at risk of not playing at Etihad:
Player (Team) | Injury | Status |
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) | Hamstring | Doubtful |
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) | Knee | Questionable |
Yaya Touré (Man City) | Hamstring | Doubtful |
Fernando (Man City) | Knee | Probable |
Samir Nasri (Man City) | Muscle | Doubtful |
from Barca Blaugranes - All Posts http://ift.tt/1TrZHJf
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق