Pep Guardiola brings a huge selection of Man City selection in the biggest game of the season

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has made a huge invitation not to start Erling Haaland in the Champions League decision on Wednesday night against Real Madrid.

Premier 3-2 Premier League champions on the aggregate entering the second part of the knockout play-offs in Bernabeu and face uphill to turn things up.

But the fans were shocked to see Haaland’s name among the starters when the lines were released just over an hour before the start. Instead, the Norwegian was the first time this season, after starting all 34 previous Premier League and Champions League matches.

It was just a few weeks ago Haaland has signed a new decade contract by 2034.

Bernardo Silva comes to XI for the city, with several different options open to Guardiola. January signed Omar Marmoush, who achieved a hat-trick on Saturday’s throwing of Newcastle United from the left side, could move central to replace the role of Haalanda.

Alternatively, Silva could be used as a ‘false nine’ that could give the city a little more control of the ball in the central areas while trying to return at a level.

There was also no Kevin de Bruyne in Guardiola’s lineup. She may be left to the biggest games of the season, painting a serious picture of the aging of Belgian’s future at the club, beyond the contract at the end of the current campaign and already associated with the gold sunset in Saudi Arabia.

De Bruyne did not play any role in the weekend against Newcastle, and on the bench he was left as an unused replacement in the Premier League match for the third time this season.

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