Topics: Pep Guardiola, Vinicius Jr., Manchester City, Real Madrid, UEFA Champions League
The Cityzens are preparing to lock horns with Los Blancos, and while some stats read favorably for the Premier League giants, there are a few concerns.

Tuesday will see Manchester City and Real Madrid kick off the UEFA Champions League semifinal round, with Pep Guardiola set to lock horns with a familiar foe in this highly-anticipated European fixture.

The Spanish tactician has shared several encounters with Los Blancos by virtue of being a former Barcelona boss; however, his run-ins with the 13-time UEFA Champions League winners are not limited to his time with Barcelona. In fact, since leaving Camp Nou back in 2012, Pep has gone on to face the Merengues another four times, two during his spell with Bayern Munich and the other two taking place with his current club.

But what is Guardiola's record against the Spanish giants? In one word: impressive! The 51-year-old has crossed paths with the current Primera Division leaders 19 times throughout his illustrious career, and while Real Madrid have always been an elite club, the manager has pulled off 11 victories in those 19 showdowns. Only four of their encounters ended in defeats for Pep (D4), meaning he's lost only 21% of his games against Real Madrid.

Pep, whose first major managerial job in Europe was the Barcelona role, hit the ground running in El Clasico, leading the Blaugrana to five consecutive victories in his first five meetings with Los Blancos. That run come to an end on the sixth try, drawing 1-1 in La Liga, before suffering his first defeat against his bitter enemies, losing 1-0 in the 2011 Copa del Rey final.

That would be one of only two defeats in El Clasico in 15 outings for the brilliant tactician. After that came a UEFA Champions League run-in in which his Bayern Munich side lost both home and away in the semifinals to Cristiano and Co. In 2020, Manchester City drew the Spanish giants in Europe, this time in the round of 16, with Pep getting revenge, triumphing 2-1 both home and away.

Given his lovely record against the Spanish giants, why might the Premier League leaders struggle against their La Liga counterpart? This has nothing to do with Guardiola's record. Instead, the worry comes from the Cityzens' team selection headache as the English giants have no recognized right-back available for this tie due to Kyle Walker's injury and Joao Cancelo's suspension.

Nathan Ake might have deputized, but with John Stones having an issue of his own, the Dutchman could be needed in the center-back role. This means Vinicius Jr., who is the most creative player in the UEFA Champions League this season, could go head-to-head with a Man City man unfamiliar with the right-back role. This could spell a bad night for Pep's side.