Manchester City v Real Madrid: Champions League playoff round, first leg – live

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A reminder of the teams

Manchester City (possible 4-1-2-3) Ederson; Akanki, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Stones; Bernardo, De Bruyne; Savinho, Haaland, Grealish.
Substitutes: Ortega Moreno, Marmoush, Kovacic, Doku, Nico Gonzalez, Gundogan, Nunes, Khusanov, Foden, O’Reilly, Lewis, McAtee.

Real Madrid (possible 4-2-1-3) Courtois; Valverde, Tchouameni, Asencio, Mendy; Ceballos, Camavinga; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr.
Substitutes: Lunin, Modric, Arda Guler, Endrick, Vallejo, Fran Garcia, Brahim, Gonzalo, Jacobo Ramon, Chema, Lorenzo Aguado.

Referee Clement Turpin (France).

Manchester City v Real Madrid: the story so far

2012-13 (group stage)

Madrid 3-2 City
City 1-1 Madrid

Madrid qualified and reached the semi-finals; City were eliminated

2015-16 (semi-final)

City 0-0 Madrid
Madrid 1-0 City (agg: 1-0)

2019-20 (last 16)

Madrid 1-2 City
City 2-1 Madrid (agg: 4-2)

2021-22 (semi-final)

City 4-3 Madrid

Madrid 3-1 City (AET; agg: 6-5)

2022-23 (semi-final)

Madrid 1-1 City
City 4-0 Madrid (agg: 5-1)

2023-24 (quarter-final)

Madrid 3-3 City
City 1-1 Madrid (agg: 4-4; pens: 3-4)

In years to come, books will be written about this rivalry. I think I read via Opta that it’s only the fourth time two teams have met in the Champions League in four successive seasons.

The others were Deportivo v Juventus (2000-04), Liverpool v Chelsea (five in a row 2004-09) and Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (2013-17)

Pep Guardiola on Real’s Fab Four: Bellingham, Mbappe, Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr

It’s impossible for 90 minutes, 180 minutes or 200 minutes – depending on extra time – to control these four players. They are exceptional. How they combine, their runs, the ability one‑against‑one, how they keep the ball. So we have to reduce their involvement as much as possible. Knowing that [they will be dangerous at some point] is going to happen, accept it.

Sid Lowe on Real Madrid’s injury crisis

This is not solely about injuries, though Ancelotti will look at that list and wish they could have been spread around the pitch. He would probably have preferred to lose a forward than rack up all the absentees in defence.

Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham have scored more than 60 goals between them. After a difficult start, Mbappé has been superb – he collected the award for January’s player of the month on Saturday and has 13 goals in 14 games – and Rodrygo has been outstanding, scoring seven and providing four since the turn of the year.

There’s loads more football tonight: Champions League, FA Cup, North & Central America Under-17 World Cup qualification. Michael Butler is across ~~all~~ most of it.

Ruben Dias, Bellingham will miss second leg if booked

The second leg is a week tomorrow in Madrid. City have only one player on a yellow card, Ruben Dias. But Madrid have several: Aurelien Tchouameni, Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modric, Endrick and even Carlo Ancelotti.

Pep Guardiola’s pre-match thoughts

We’re so excited and happy to be here, to live this experience again. They’re an exceptional team and we need to perform at our best.

[On picking John Stones in midfield] He’s played there many times alongside Rodri. He’s an experienced guy, he’s played really well the last two games.

[On Jack Grealish’s selection] Listen, Jack has had to compete with our wingers but today, with the game we want to play and the movements we need, I decided on him.

[Carlo Ancelotti says he has an emergency in defence…] It’s what we’ve had all season! I understand completely what he means.

[On the threat of Kylian Mbappe] Listen, since I was born in a little town in Catalonia, my country, Real Madrid have always had unbelievable forwards: Cristiano, Bale, Di Maria, Butragueno, Higuain, Arjen Robben. That’s why they’re always up there.

We’ve had a tough season. But in life and in football you always to have to look forward. We still have three or four months ahead of us. What’s happened has happened. Look forward, look ahead. That’s what we’re going to do tonight.

This is the fourth season in a row that Manchester City and Real Madrid have met in the Champions League. In the first three, the victors went on to win the competition.

Man City team news: Ake returns, Foden left out

Some very good news for City: Nathan Ake is fit to start in a defence that looks much more familiar. In fact Pep Guardiola has picked five defenders, which suggests John Stones will be playing in midfield.

Ederson also returns to the side and Jack Grealish starts on the left. Phil Foden is only on the bench. Nico Gonzalez is also among the subs, having recovered from the injury he sustained at Orient. I think that means City are missing only two first-team players, Rodri and Oscar Bobb.

Real Madrid team news

Carlo Ancelotti has picked two midfielders, Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni, in the back four. There are two changes from the Madrid derby on Saturday: Eduardo Camavinga replaces the injured Lucas Vazquez, with Valverde moving into Vazquez’s position at right-back, and Ferland Mendy is preferred to Fran Garcia at left-back.

Preamble

Well well, fancy seeing these two here. Manchester City and Real Madrid usually meet in the later stages of the Champions League, but here they are slumming it in the new playoff round. This, surely, is not what Uefa had in mind when they revamped the Champions League. For neutrals, on the other hand, it’s a mouthwatering prospect, bursting with one of football’s greatest gifts: jeopardy. It’s unthinkable that either City or Madrid will not reach the last 16 of the Champions League. It’s also a certainty.

The last time City failed to make it to the last 16 was in 2012-13, when they were in a group of death with Madrid, Ajax and Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund. The last time Real Madrid failed to do so was in 1996-97, and that was only because they didn’t qualify. The last time they were actually in the European Cup and went out before the last 16 1962-63, Jef Jurion and all that.

The injury crisis at both clubs adds to the sense of wildness around this game. Among Pep Guardiola’s many selection dilemmas is who the flip should play right-back against Vinicius Junior and/or Kylian Mbappe.

Madrid need to find a right-back and two centre-backs. They are without five senior defenders: Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, Lucas Vasquez and David Alaba.

Frankly, the score could be anything.

Kick off 8pm.

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