The second leg of Real Madrid vs. Manchester City will take place on Wednesday, February 19th.
After a 3-2 win over Manchester City in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off round in England last Tuesday, Real Madrid will now welcome the Citizens to the Spanish capital on Wednesday, February 19th, with a 9pm local time (CET) kick-off (3pm ET) to decide who will reach the next round.
Los Blancos prepared for this game with a frustrating 1-1 draw against Osasuna at El Sadar on Saturday, with Jude Bellingham sent off for dissent and Eduardo Camavinga penalized for a foul in the box. It was a much more positive weekend for City, who beat Newcastle United 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium with an Omar Marmoush hat-trick.
Manchester City has only beaten Real Madrid at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu once in their previous six visits, that coming with a 2-1 victory shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic halted the season in 2020.
In the quarterfinals, one of Atlético Madrid or Bayer Leverküsen will await the victor of this clash, with the draw set to take place later in the week. For the former, that would mean a Madrid derby should Real Madrid progress.
Real Madrid team news vs. Manchester City
Coach Carlo Ancelotti is pending two major injury doubts ahead of this game as he hopes to recover central defenders Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba from injury. Both have had separate muscle injuries, Rüdiger being sidelined for the first time this season, and have left midfielder Aurélien Tchouameni and youngster Raúl Asencio to fill in.
Speaking after the first leg, Ancelotti said that, “clearly, for the second leg we need Rüdiger and Alaba, I think they will be back for the second leg”. Both are in line to return, but Rüdiger is the more likely of the two to come in for a starting role.
One man who won’t be available is Lucas Vázquez, who remains ruled out due to a muscle issue of his own. Fede Valverde will continue at right-back in his place, dropping back from midfield to cover the absence.
There are also long-term injuries for several more defensive options, including Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão and youngster Joan Martínez. All three are unlikely to feature before the end of the season.
Also worthy of note are the five players who are only one yellow card away from missing a potential quarter-final first leg against either Atlético Madrid or Bayer Leverküsen. Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouameni, Luka Modrić and Endrick are all at risk.
Expected Real Madrid lineup vs. Manchester City
Real Madrid’s expected lineup vs. Manchester City (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Fede Valverde, Aurélien Tchouameni, Antonio Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy; Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos, Jude Bellingham; Vinícius Júnior, Kylian Mbappé and Rodrygo Goes.
Ancelotti could make only one change to the side who won the first leg by bringing Antonio Rüdiger back in for Raúl Asencio in defence if the German is deemed fully fit.
Three other players could be recalled after being dropped to the bench for the weekend draw with Osasuna. Ferland Mendy and Fran García continue to rotate at left-back, while Dani Ceballos could have the edge over captain Luka Modrić in midfield, and Rodrygo Goes is expected to return in place of Brahim Díaz on the right of attack.
Off the bench, Ancelotti will also have youngsters Arda Güler and Endrick to make an impact as substitutes if required, though neither are yet to be trusted as starters for such a crucial tie.
