Real Madrid and Manchester City promise a great night at the Santiago Bernabéu in the second leg of the Champions League Playoffs with both teams looking for a ticket to the last sixteen in a match in which the big names of both teams will be on show and in which no holds will be barred due to the importance of what is at stake. One of the last two champions of the competition will be eliminated from the competition sooner than expected in an early final.
Real Madrid go into this decisive match with the advantage gained in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium, where they experienced one of their classic magical Champions League nights. Haaland even put his team ahead on two occasions, but first Mbappé equalized in the 60th minute to make it 1-1, and then, when the game seemed lost, Brahim made it 2-2 and in injury time Bellingham appeared to make it 2-3 and achieve an important victory for the Whites.
This was important in terms of gaining an advantage and what that means for this Wednesday’s match. Carlo Ancelotti‘s side go into the second leg of their last 16 tie at the Santiago Bernabéu with a favourable record of 36 European ties won out of 38 after winning the first leg away from home, according to BeSoccer data.
Real Madrid injuries
At Real Madrid, there are three confirmed absences: Militao, Carvajal and Lucas Vázquez. The first two are long-term absences and it is known that they will not be back this season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in one of their knees (in the case of Carvajal, he ruptured three different ligaments). Meanwhile, the player from Cuntis has some muscle problems from which he cannot recover in time and is expected to be in the infirmary for another two weeks.
In addition to these sure casualties, Carlo Ancelotti’s battered defense still has some doubts: Rüdiger, Alaba and Vallejo. The first two have been injured for several days, although on Monday they trained with the group as normal and the idea is that on Tuesday they will undergo a test to see if they are fit; if they pass, they will be included in the squad, but it is not known how many minutes they could be given to avoid relapses. In the case of Vallejo, he did not train on Monday due to discomfort, although he was not expected to play either.
Possible Real Madrid line-up
Courtois; Fede Valverde, Asencio, Rüdiger, Mendy; Tchouameni, Ceballos, Bellingham; Vinicius, Mbappé and Rodrygo.