The latest on Luka Modric, Nathan Ake, and Eder Militao ahead of Real Madrid vs Manchester City (Champions League Semi-Final First-Leg) | OneFootball

Manchester City take on Real Madrid in the first of two meetings with the La Liga giants, with a spot in the 2023 Champions League final up for grabs.

As May enters the final six matches for Manchester City, the dream of a possible treble becomes more of a realistic possibility, as their fate in Europe’s premier competition will now be decided in the next two weeks.

City see a repeat of last year’s Champions League semi-final contest, as they take on Carlo Ancelotti’s side who inflicted heartbreak on the Premier League champions with three quickfire goals at the Santiago Bernabeu last season on their way to another European crown.

While City’s squad returned to full strength in recent weeks, the clash with Leeds on Saturday saw another injury problem for Nathan Ake, as Guardiola’s mainstay left-back was withdrawn in the second-half and subsequently left out of the travelling squad that made the trip to Madrid on Monday afternoon.

As for Real Madrid, the absence of Ake for City has been counteracted by injury concerns and a suspension within their own squad, with three absentees from their open training session on Monday afternoon.

Ahead of what has all the makings of a true Champions League classic, here is all the very latest fitness and injury news from both camps!

Real Madrid

One confirmed absentee for Real Madrid against Manchester City concerns Éder Militão, with the Brazilian central defender suspended for the meeting with the Premier League Champions this week.

Ferland Mendy and Dani Ceballos joined the aforementioned centre-back in being absent from Tuesday evening’s open training session in front of the global media.

Despite being an injury concern in recent days and weeks, the legendary Croatian central midfielder Luka Modric will be fit and available to face Manchester City, in what will undoubtedly be a significant boost to Carlo Ancelotti and his options for this contest.

Manchester City

As for Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City boss will once again be without Nathan Ake on Tuesday evening, after the Netherlands international was not selected to join the travelling party due to an injury sustained in the 2-1 win over Leeds.

There has been little in the way of updates concerning the 28 year-old, however City will almost certainly need the defender’s capabilities back sooner rather than later given the hectic nature of the fixture list.

Cole Palmer returns to the squad list after struggling with ‘disturbances’ in his ankle in recent days – a problem that kept him out of the matchday squad list to face Sam Allardyce and his players at the weekend.