Real Madrid host Manchester City in a heavyweight Champions League last-16 bout tonight.
It marks a second trip to the Bernabeu for City this term, after Pep Guardiola’s side emerged 2-1 winners from a league phase clash back in December.
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Results on the final day of this year’s opening stage saw the Premier League title contenders sneak through to the round of 16 automatically at Madrid’s expense, with Los Blancos having to battle past Benfica in last month’s play-offs to make it here.
The Spanish giants emerged from that two-legged meeting with former boss Jose Mourinho with a 3-1 aggregate victory, but performances have undeniably dipped recently as evidenced by losses to both Osasuna and Getafe in LaLiga.
Head coach Alvaro Arbeloa is unlikely to have star man Kylian Mbappe to call upon, with the French forward’s absence through a persistent knee problem coming as a huge blow to Madrid, whose current injury list also includes the likes of Jude Bellingham, Eder Militao and David Alaba.
City, meanwhile, are set to recall Erling Haaland after his rest during last weekend’s FA Cup win over Newcastle.
Breakout star Nico O’Reilly could also be in line to start versus the side he scored against in December, and Guardiola appears to have essentially a full complement of attacking players to choose from as he bids to take an advantage back to the Etihad Stadium next week.
How to watch Real Madrid vs Man City
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage starting at 7pm GMT ahead of an 8pm kick-off.
Live stream: TNT Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Discovery+ app and website.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog.
