Real Madrid V Man City: Ronaldo Fit For City; Benzema, Casemiro Out

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane claimed three-time World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo is 100 percent fit for his side’s Champions League semifinal, second leg showdown with Manchester City on Wednesday.

Ronaldo missed last week’s 0-0 draw in the first leg due to a thigh injury, but took a full part in training on Monday and Tuesday.

However, Zidane confirmed that Madrid will be missing two other key players in striker Karim Benzema and defensive midfielder Casemiro through injury.

“Cristiano is fine, he is 100 percent, that is why he trained this week and will be there tomorrow,” Zidane said on Tuesday.

“Karim and Casemiro are another thing. In the scan today Karim still has a problem and we don’t want to risk him.

Battle Ready: Real Madrid announce squad for Champions League semifinal against Manchester City

Champions League semifinals are here. The last four teams start to battle for a place in the Milan Final on Tuesday, when Real Madrid face Manchester City at Etihad Stadium. And coach Zinedine Zidane has called up his squad for the game.

There are no surprises or answers in the list. Every member of the Blanco squad will be traveling to England, which doesn't reveal if Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, the two major injury doubts on the team, will be available or not to play on Tuesday. The Portuguese looks set to return from a hamstring issue, but the Frenchman is very unlikely to feature because of a knee injury.

Minutes before the game, Madrid's coach will cut five players from the list to form the official 18-man lineup to be in uniform. These are the 23 players called up by Zidane for the match:

Champions League: #ManCity need leap of faith against Real Madrid

Until this season Manchester City's progression in the Champions League could be measured in baby steps but on Tuesday they can make a huge leap forward when they host Real Madrid in their first European semi-final for 45 years.

The Abu Dhabi-backed English club have already broken new ground this season, moving past the last 16 stage that proved their limit for the past two seasons having failed even to survive the group stage prior to that.

In seeing off Paris St Germain, who have similar financial muscle, in the quarter-finals they delivered a powerful statement of intent to reach their first semi-final since a European Cup Winners' Cup defeat by Chelsea in 1971.

C. Ronaldo’s Injury Is Not Serious – Zidane

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane played down injury fears over superstar Cristiano Ronaldo following Wednesday’s 3-0 La Liga win over Villarreal at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

After Barcelona and Atletico Madrid had also won earlier in the evening, goals from Karim Benzema, Lucas Vazquez and Luka Modric saw Zidane’s side remain just one point behind the joint-leaders with four games of the season still to play.

What seemed a straightforward night for Madrid turned darker in injury time. Ronaldo had been set to continue his record of being the only outfield player in La Liga to play every single minute so far this season, but the Portuguese picked up an apparent thigh muscle problem and left the pitch in added time.

Madrid finished the match with 10 men because Zidane had already used his three substitutes.

World Cup: Yobo's Dream

....what if I can make it to 104 in Brazil?

For Joseph Yobo, the pre-match ritual is as much a part of the game as the half-time team talk. In his 16 years as a professional, the Nigeria defender has always readied himself for action the same way, slipping on his shirt and then singing and praying before stepping on to the pitch. It is a routine he has gone through innumerable times – but on precisely 100 occasions for the Super Eagles. A sterling servant for his country, Yobo had the honour of bringing up his century of caps against Argentina in Nigeria's final Group F game at Brazil 2014.

Although his side slipped to a 3-2 loss in that match, the 33-year-old came away with almost entirely positive memories. After all, not only did he hit a significant personal milestone, Bosnia and Herzegovina's 3-1 victory against Iran ensured that Nigeria tied down a berth in the Round of 16. "Qualifying for the knockout phase was our first objective," the Super Eagles' captain told FIFA.com. "We're very happy because that hadn't happened to us since 1998. This time, we did it with pride, by finishing second and trying to win first place against Argentina."

'I'm proud of our team'
They gave the South Americans a genuine scare too, though Yobo feels they could have done even more. "We're disappointed because we didn't play that game to win it from the very first minute," explained the Fenerbahce stopper, who spent the last six months on loan at Norwich City. "We thought a draw would be a good result, but in the second half we came out even stronger to try and win the match. That's what we should have done from the very first minute."