Both still seeking domestic and continental doubles, Manchester City and Real Madrid prepare for battle in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Etihad on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola's men defeated Atletico Madrid 1-0 on aggregate to make the final four for the second year running, with a fiery goalless stalemate at the Wanda Metropolitano seeing them through.
Meanwhile, Los Blancos had to do it the hard way against Chelsea - who forced them into extra time at the Bernabeu but ultimately bowed out 5-4 to Carlo Ancelotti's side.
Real Madrid are also on the verge of clinching the La Liga title after a 3-1 midweek win over Osasuna, while Man City remain in the driving seat for the Premier League title after a 5-1 thumping of Watford.
Here, Sports Mole selects a combined XI from both Real Madrid and Man City's squads, using only players expected to be available for the showdown.
There was barely anything to choose from between Ederson and Thibaut Courtois for the number one spot in our XI, with both shot-stoppers keeping four clean sheets apiece in the tournament this term, but Ederson gets the nod purely on the basis that he has conceded one goal fewer than the Belgian.
With Joao Cancelo suspended and Kyle Walker still an injury doubt, there was only one real candidate for the right-back role in Dani Carvajal, who has not been without his injury problems this season but has still managed a goal and four assists in 31 matches across all tournaments. We were hardly spoiled for choice on the left-hand side either, with Ferland Mendy in the treatment room alongside Marcelo, so Aymeric Laporte - who has now regained Guardiola's trust on a regular basis - occupies that role ahead of Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Now back from a hamstring injury to take his rightful place in the City backline, Ruben Dias was a shoo-in for this XI, with the Portuguese always a threat at the other end of the pitch and posting a 94% pass accuracy in league action this term. With David Alaba likely to miss the first leg due to injury, Eder Militao returns from a European ban to force his way into the side as Real seek to tie him down to fresh terms.
Ancelotti's ranks could certainly be thin for the first leg, with Casemiro also an injury doubt due to thigh discomfort, so Rodri - who scored a cracker of a goal against Watford at the weekend - was a simple pick over Fernandinho, Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga in the number six role.
Despite his advancing years, Luka Modric still oozes class in the Real Madrid midfield and provided a sublime assist for Rodrygo's pivotal strike in the second leg against Chelsea, and the 36-year-old just pips teammate Toni Kroos to a spot in the engine room. The German would have been a certain contender had it not been for the presence of Kevin De Bruyne, whose crucial winner in the first leg against Atletico represents one of 25 goal contributions (14 strikes, 11 assists) that he has already registered in a stellar campaign.
Rodrygo took his goal with aplomb against Chelsea, but neither he nor Marco Asensio threaten Riyad Mahrez's spot on the right, with the Algerian already netting six goals in this season's Champions League and 23 in total for the season - his most prolific campaign yet for the Premier League champions. Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden would waltz their way into several combined XI's, but Vinicius Junior's 17 goals and 18 assists this season are too good to ignore.
In spite of his struggles for regular starts this term, Gabriel Jesus registered a quartet of goals in his side's customary thumping of Watford, and the Brazilian also knows how to find the back of the net against Real. However, Los Blancos would not be in the semi-finals without 39-goal striker Karim Benzema, who is the second top scorer in this season's competition with 12 - only behind Robert Lewandowski - and is showing no signs of slowing down at the age of 34.
Ben Knapton
