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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
George Smith

John Stones starts as Man City fans name naming starting line-up they want to see vs Real Madrid

Manchester City will be looking to book their place in the Champions League final when they face Real Madrid in the second leg of their semi-final showdown at the Etihad Stadium this evening.

City, who last reached the final two years ago, will be looking to build on the creditable 1-1 draw they earned at the Bernabeu last Tuesday. Kevin De Bruyne's impressive strike cancelled out Vinicius Jr's stunning opener, meaning there is little to split the two sides ahead of kick-off.

The Blues, since drawing with Carlo Ancelotti's side in Spain just over a week ago, have taken another giant stride towards retaining their Premier League crown, beating Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park on Sunday. Ilkay Gundogan scored either side of Erling Haaland's 52nd goal of the season to put them on the cusp of a third successive title.

READ MORE: How City should line-up vs Real Madrid

Tonight, though, Pep Guardiola will put domestic matters to one side as he attempts to lead his side a step closer towards their maiden Champions League crown. The former Barcelona chief has a virtually fully fit squad to choose from, with only Nathan Ake set to miss out because of a calf issue.

With that in mind, how do City's supporters want the Blues to line-up this evening? MEN Sport has taken a close look at what they have voted for using our interactive widget.

Unsurprisingly, the supporters have voted for Ederson to retain his place in goal and start between the sticks. The Brazilian has started all but two of City's Champions League matches this season and he will be determined to keep his first clean sheet against Madrid at the sixth time of asking.

In defence, City's supporters want to see Guardiola make one change to the back-four that started at Goodison Park at the weekend. They want John Stones to return to the side at the expense of Aymeric Laporte and partner Ruben Dias at centre-back with Kyle Walker and Manuel Akanji operating in the two full-back berths.

In midfield, the supporters hope De Bruyne will be recalled after being an unused substitute against Everton. He was rested against the Toffees and was replaced by Julian Alvarez in the attacking-midfield role.

They hope the Belgian will be recalled to the side and join forces with Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri in City's strongest midfield trio. Gundogan has scored four goals in his last three matches in all competitions.

As regards to the front-three, the supporters hope that Guardiola will recall both Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish to the side. They both started the win over Everton on the bench before coming on in the latter stages of the contest.

Erling Haaland, unsurprisingly, has been selected to lead the line with Bernardo providing support from the right and Grealish from the left. Riyad Mahrez and and Phil Foden would make way for the aforementioned duo to come in.

Starting line-up City's fans want to see vs Real Madrid: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Stones, Akanji; Rodri. Gundogan, De Bruyne; Bernardo, Haaland, Grealish.

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