Manuel Pellegrini is confident Manchester City can progress to the Champions League final and says his team have nothing to fear ahead of their trip to Madrid.
City played out a scoreless draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday night and now must score in the Bernabeu in the second leg on 4 May.
Pellegrini is likely to be without playmaker David Silva after he limped out of the first leg with a leg injury, but the Chilean manager remains bullish.
"I don't think they are favourites. As I said before the game, we have the same option as Real Madrid,” he said.
"Of course they have the advantage to play the first game away, so they try to manage the tempo of the game, the pace of the game.
"After that they finish at home but this team play away very similar to how we play here at the Etihad.
"We had good results playing away so we are not afraid to go to Bernabeu and we will see which team plays better that game," explained the former Real boss.
Tuesday was City’s first ever semi-final in Europe’s premier club competition and with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo out of the Madrid team due to injury it looked a great chance for them to make their mark on the tie.
However, they were lucky to escape with a draw and not to concede an away goal.
Only the reflexes of Joe Hart kept Madrid out at the Etihad Stadium, where substitute Jese also hit the bar as Real Madrid upped the ante in the second half.
"I think it was a very close game," the City boss said. "We tried from the beginning to win, we pressed high, but we were not very creative, we couldn't create clear chances to score.
City may be confident ahead of the second leg, but they will almost certainly have to do without Silva (above) in the Spanish capital after sustaining a first-half injury.
"David had a slight strain in his thigh," Pellegrini said. "It is difficult to say now (whether he will be involved). It is probably tough for him to recover in just one week. "
Silva's expected absence is compounded by frustration after City tried and failed to move Sunday's trip to Southampton after the draw was made.
The club say they lobbied the Premier League and broadcaster Sky and alter the 4.30pm kick-off, but their inability to do so means Real Madrid have an extra day's rest ahead of the second leg.
"Before we go to Madrid, we must continue in the Premier League against a difficult team in Southampton,” said Pellegrini.
"Unfortunately for us, maybe we are going to have one day less rest than Real Madrid because they play on Saturday.
"We tried change our game but it was impossible so we need to play on Sunday. I am sure we will give all we can to arrive to the final."
Pellegrini's line-up at St Mary's could be interesting given the widespread changes he made after complaining about fixture congestion ahead of February's FA Cup clash at Chelsea.
