Key events
Pep Guardiola speaks to TNT Sports. “I am pretty sure [Erling Haaland is refreshed] … we play a lot against Madrid recently … the other time was the group stage … now it is knockout … different managers … different players on both sides … different game … it will be played for over 180 minutes and we have to play every single minute to deserve to stay in this competition.”
A reminder of what happened when these two teams last met, three months ago almost to the day. Oh Xabi, we hardly knew ye.
A pre-match snapshot of both camps. Sid Lowe and Jamie Jackson peer through the viewfinder so you don’t have to.
TNT Sports report that the Bernabeu isn’t sold out tonight. Not even for what the channel had moments before called “the rivalry in the modern Champions League era”. It’s almost as if familiarity breeds contempt.
Kylian Mbappé’s absence leaves a 13-goal-shaped hole in Real Madrid’s team. He’s the competition’s leading scorer by some considerable distance, give or take one 43-minute four-goal scoring burst during the Qarabag-Newcastle tie.
13: Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid)
10: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United)
8: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
7: Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray)
The team news is a tale of two superstar strikers. Kylian Mbappé hasn’t recovered from his knee problem and is missing from the Real Madrid squad altogether. Erling Haaland however is back for Manchester City after being rested in the precautionary style for the FA Cup win at Newcastle last weekend. Marc Guéhi and Antoine Semenyo make their Champions League debuts.
The teams
Real Madrid: Courtois, Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Mendy, Valverde, Guler, Tchouameni, Pitarch, Diaz, Vinicius Junior.
Subs: Lunin, Gonzalez, Carvajal, Camavinga, Gonzalo Garcia, Asencio, Francisco Garcia, Aguado, Cestero, Mastantuono, Angel, Palacios.
Manchester City: Donnarumma, Khusanov, Dias, Guehi, O’Reilly, Rodri, Silva, Savinho, Semenyo, Doku, Haaland.
Subs: Trafford, Bettinelli, Reijnders, Stones, Ake, Marmoush, Cherki, Gonzalez, Ait-Nouri, Nunes, Foden, Alleyne.
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy).
Preamble
For the fifth season in a row, Manchester City face Real Madrid in the knockout phase of the Champions League. Real have had the best of it during this sequence, winning in last season’s play-offs, the 2024 quarters and the 2022 semis … but City did emerge victorious in the 2023 semis, in some style, with a four-goal thrashing at the Etihad, and there’s also the small matter of the come-from-behind win at the Bernabeu during this season’s league phase. Tot everything up historically – five wins apiece from 15 meetings, City leading the aggregate score 26-25 – and this relatively modern rivalry is closely contested. Here comes the next chapter, then; good luck calling it. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. It’s on!
