WHO: Manchester City-Real Madrid
That: Champions League round of 16, second leg
Where: Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England
When: Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:00 GMT ahead of our live text commentary broadcast.
Facing the barrel of elimination from the UEFA Champions League, Manchester City host Real Madrid just six days after the Spanish giants handed out a clinical 3-0 thrashing to the former Premier League champions in the first leg of their round of 16 tie at the Bernabéu.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
For Pep Guardiola’s side, it was a night to forget, and City will have their work cut out for them in front of their home fans at the Etihad Stadium in the decisive second leg if they are to avoid a repeat of last season’s knockout stage exit at the hands of Los Blancos.
Real Madrid’s hopes of advancing to the quarter-finals will be boosted by the likely return to action of superstar Kylian Mbappé, who will travel with the team to Manchester for Tuesday’s crucial clash.
What happened in the first leg of the round of 16 between Real and City?
Federico Valverde scored the first hat-trick of his career as Real Madrid beat Manchester City 3-0 in the opener, leaving the Premier League side with a huge goal deficit heading into the second leg.
For the Uruguayan international, in the absence of injured stars Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo, it was undoubtedly the highlight of his Real Madrid career as he swept away City’s short-lived challenge with goals in the 20th, 27th and 42nd minutes.
How did Real Madrid do in La Liga this weekend?
Turkish international Arda Guler scored what must be a strong contender for goal of the season when he audaciously fired a 65-meter (71-yard) goal from his own half, and Valverde capped an excellent week with another great goal as Real Madrid thrashed Elche 4-1 on Saturday in La Liga.
Los Blancos, second in the league standings, remained four points behind leader Barcelona with 10 games left to finish the national season.
Have Manchester City bounced back in the Premier League after their crushing defeat to Real Madrid?
Manchester City surprisingly lost ground to Premier League leaders Arsenal on Saturday when they drew 1-1 at lowly West Ham United, leaving them nine points behind the leaders with a game in hand but with just eight games left in the season.
Despite the disappointing result, Guardiola remained defiant and said City will not throw in the towel.
“This is not over. Who said that? We did not lose. We will continue,” he said.
“Nine points are a lot against Arsenal, but it happened. We have the game at home, so we have to try until the end.”
Face to face
- City and Real have met on 16 occasions with Madrid ahead: six wins compared to five for Manchester.
- This is the fifth consecutive season that these two clubs have met in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
- Real Madrid eliminated City in the round of 16 last season as they did in the 2024 quarterfinals and 2022 semifinals.
- City beat Madrid in the 2023 semi-final en route to lifting the Champions League trophy for the first time.
Manchester City Team News
Guardiola has a practically intact team before the second leg against Real.
Rico Lewis and defender Josko Gvardiol are unavailable due to long-term injuries.
In a boost for City, midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who had spent months on the sidelines with an injury, appeared on the bench for Saturday’s game against West Ham and is available to play.
Expected lineup:
Donnarumma (goalkeeper); Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Ait-Nouri; Bernardo, Rodri, O’Reilly; Semenyo, Haaland, Marmoush
real madrid team news
Things are looking up for Madrid and talisman Mbappe, who missed the first leg against City with a knee injury, is expected to travel to England for the tie.
Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa said on Friday he was “confident” Mbappé will be available to face Manchester City.
“It’s improving day by day,” Arbeloa said at a news conference. “I’m sure he’ll be on the trip to Manchester.”
Mbappé, who scored 38 goals in 33 appearances for Real Madrid in all competitions in the 2025-2026 season, is not certain of starting at the Etihad Stadium. With Madrid holding a three-goal lead from the first match, Arbeloa is more likely to play Gonzalo García up front in his place alongside Vinicius Jr and bring Mbappé off the bench.
In other good news for Arbeloa, key midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who was questionable for this match, is now available for selection.
Regular starters Bellingham and Rodrygo remain sidelined as do Edit Militao, Dani Ceballos and David Alaba.
Possible starting eleven:
Courtois (goalkeeper); Alexander-Arnold, Huijsen, Rudiger, Fran García; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Güler, Vinicius Jr, Gonzalo García
Forms Guide
City of Manchester: WDWLD (all competitions, latest result)
Real Madrid: WLWWW
