Pep Guardiola tells Man City players how to make Real Madrid starting lineup

straight to your inbox Pep Guardiola dismissed the idea that Manchester City have given themselves the best chance in their history of winning the Champions League. The Blues completed the job against Real Madrid with a 2-1 win at the Etihad on Friday night to qualify for the last-eight tournament which starts in Lisbon on Wednesday.

straight to your inbox Injury updates on Sergio Aguero were seen as being of key importance as Manchester City prepared to take on Real Madrid. But Pep Guardiola hinted that the Blues legend might not have played even if he had recovered from a knee injury he picked up shortly after the Premier League re-start.

straight to your inbox Pep Guardiola said that beating Real Madrid twice is an important step in preparing Manchester City to win the Champions League. But if beating the 13-times winners home and away has strengthened the Blues’ mentality and self-belief, the Blues boss says they quickly have to put it into perspective.

straight to your inbox Pep Guardiola has picked his Manchester City team to face Real Madrid with a strong start in mind. The Blues expect they will have to work hard for the duration of the game against a team dubbed the kings of the competition by Guardiola, with the bench expected to play an important part.

straight to your inbox Emmanuel Adebayor believes that Manchester City are favourites to see off Real Madrid and reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League. And the striker, who played for both clubs, reckons the fact that the Spanish champions no longer have Cristiano Ronaldo will be the crucial factor when they meet at the Etihad on Friday night.

straight to your inbox Fernandinho has revealed that he has held conversations with Pep Guardiola over the possibility of the Manchester City manager taking charge of the Brazil national team. Guardiola has enjoyed untold success since he joined City in 2016, winning the Premier League twice, three Carabao Cups and the FA Cup.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola made a triple change at half-time against Norwich to give more players the opportunity to impress as he continues to prepare for the Real Madrid game.Manchester City's final Premier League fixture of the season was still competitive, and the milestones clocked up by Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Ederson during it will stand.However, the lack of importance given to the match was signalled earlier in the week when the manager chose to give his players a

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has downplayed the importance of tactics for the Real Madrid game.Manchester City put in a disciplined performance at the Bernabeu to come away with a 2-1 win, playing without the ball for more of the match than they usually would before bouncing back from going behind to take the advantage into the second leg.Much has changed in football and the world since the two teams were meant to play the second leg.

straight to your inbox Pep Guardiola has warned his Manchester City players that any slackening-off against Norwich could cost them their place in the team to face Real Madrid. And the Blues boss has made it plain that he wants them to get the three goals needed to take them past the 100 goals for the second time in three years.Guardiola gave his squad two days off this week, but made it plain that was simply because neither they nor the Canaries have anything left to play for.

straight to your inbox Pep Guardiola raised hopes that Sergio Aguero will be fit to take on Real Madrid in the Champions League in two weeks. The Manchester City striker was expected to have to sit out the crunch game against the La Liga champions after suffering a knee injury that required surgery in Barcelona.

straight to your inboxRaheem Sterling could yet claim the Premier League Golden Boot but even that wouldn't make him believe it has been his best year in the competition.The England international continued his progression at Manchester City against Watford on Tuesday with two goals that take him to 19 for the campaign - a personal best.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola does not expect summer signings to be enough to make Manchester City more successful next season.Defeat in the FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday leaves the Blues with just the Carabao Cup and Community Shield in their trophy cabinet this year, having bagged an unprecedented domestic clean sweep in the previous campaign.

straight to your inbox Pep Guardiola was left saddened by Manchester City's FA Cup defeat as he accused his players of not turning up for the first half. A 2-0 victory for Mikel Arteta's Arsenal ended a long unbeaten run for the Blues in domestic cups stretching back to February 2018 and leaves them with the Champions League as the only remaining trophy they can win this season.

straight to your inbox Ederson will start for Manchester City in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal with Claudio Bravo out injured. The Chile international has played in previous rounds, in line with Pep Guardiola ’s practice of giving his second-string keepers valuable game time by playing them in the domestic cup competitions.

straight to your inbox Pep Guardiola credited Bournemouth as Manchester City held out for a 2-1 victory in the Premier League. David Silva's early goal appeared to pave the way for another routine win for the Blues but they were made to work incredibly hard for it by an Eddie Howe team battling relegation.