Manchester City, England, is looking to take advantage of the ground factor to break its knot in the semi-finals of the European Champions League in football against Real Madrid, when it hosts it on Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium in the second leg of the semi-final, after they drew 1-1 in the first leg.

The Emirati-owned team tasted the bitterness of defeat last season, when it was on its way to the final by winning 4-3 at home, then advancing 1-0 in the royal home, before Brazilian Rodrigo scored a double in the fatal time, then French Karim Benzema booked the final card in Overtime penalty (3-1), on the way to a record fourteenth title.

Also in the 2016 semi-finals, the two teams drew 0-0 in Manchester before Real reached the final with a home goal.

But this time, Spanish coach Pep Guardiola's team has the necessary equipment to confront the stubborn Real in an ancient competition that it is panting behind. His best achievement was his coming second in 2021 behind his compatriot Chelsea, although he was ahead by a wide margin in the domestic league.

City also has the land advantage, especially since it won all 14 of its home matches in 2023.

City is fighting on more than one front, as it is very close to winning its fifth title in six years in the English Premier League at the expense of Arsenal, it will meet its arch-neighbor Manchester United in the final of the local cup and continues to strive for a continental title. "Citizens" also dreams of repeating United's feat, which scored a historic hat-trick in 1999.

Guardiola rested Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who scored the equalizer in the first leg, during the outright 3-0 win at Everton on Sunday. But he pushed his scoring machine, the Norwegian Erling Haaland, who scored 52 goals in various competitions.

Former French striker Thierry Henry says about De Bruyne (31 years), who played under his supervision when he was an assistant coach for the Belgium national team, "I knew a lot of players, played with many, saw many, faced great players. I think Kevin's intelligence is the best I've ever seen in my life." ".

Follow up on the player who won ten titles with City under the supervision of Guardiola and third last season in the Golden Ball award ranking for the best player in the world. "I've watched him for six years with the Belgium national team. You love him more because you see him in training and matches. It's unbelievable. His intelligence, I'm still thinking With the things I've seen, he's on a different planet."

Despite the focus on Haaland breaking one record after another, De Bruyne's contributions with City were pivotal in the past years, before the arrival of the Norwegian giants last summer. Before his goal at the Santiago Bernabeu, he scored a brace against Arsenal, which paved the way for a third consecutive title in the Premier League.

However, the red-haired Belgian is more distinguished by his assists, which amounted to 27 in 43 matches this season, becoming the fastest player to pass 100 decisive balls in the Premier League.

“He needs to play quickly,” Guardiola says of him. “It is rare to find a player who moves so quickly and has a greater ability to see passes when he is in the acceleration phase than when he is stopped.”

"Ordinary players see everything while walking. But when you run at high speed, you can't see what's happening. It's the exact opposite. That's why he's an exceptional player," Pep continued, panting after the Champions League title since 2011 when he was coach of Barcelona.

On the other hand, Real has enjoyed a terrible sway over this competition since its inception, when it was crowned five times between 1956 and 1960, and then in the third millennium, when it won the title seven times, the last of which was last season at the expense of Liverpool, England, with a goal.

His fans breathed a sigh of relief when his Italian coach, Carlo Ancelotti, announced that his young French left-back, Eduardo Camavinga, had a good knee injury, as suggested by the scenes against Getafe in La Liga last Saturday.

Camavinga, 20, played an important role in the Brazilian Vinicius Jr.’s goal in the first leg, before he made a mistake that cost City a draw, knowing that the player who became a key element in Ancelotti’s plan and coming in 2021 for $44 million from Rennes, played 54 matches in various competitions. this season.

And while Real Madrid lost its title in the domestic league in favor of its historical rival Barcelona, it partially compensated by winning the King’s Cup title at the expense of Osasuna (2-1) and hopes to continue its way to the continental final to meet the qualifier between Milan and Inter of the Italians (0-2 in the first leg).

Ancelotti is again counting on Vinicius Junior, veteran Benzema and Croatian playmaker Luka Modric to dedicate the royal knot in the semi-final against Manchester Blue and his coach Guardiola, who is willing to respond to criticisms that have always dealt with his strategy in major continental events.