Real Madridvs.Man City

Los Blancos boast a one-goal lead in the knockout round playoff tie after they staged a late turnaround at the Etihad Stadium last weekend.

Erling Haaland scored either side of a Kylian Mbappe effort to give the Citizens a 2-1 lead, before former Man City attacker Brahim Diaz found the net to restore parity in the 86th minute.

Jude Bellingham then netted a stoppage-time winner to clinch a dramatic 3-2 victory, ensuring Real Madrid will enter Wednesday's second leg with a narrow advantage.

However, Real Madrid will still be aware that there is plenty of work to do if they are to set up a last-16 clash against one of Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Celtic and Bayern Munich.

Rudiger returns to squad for Man City clash

Carlo Ancelotti has named his 22-man squad for Wednesday's second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Real Madrid set to be boosted by the return of experienced centre-back Antonio Rudiger.

Ancelotti has confirmed that Rudiger is ready to start after recovering from a hamstring injury which has kept him out of the last four matches.

The Real Madrid boss told reporters: "Rudiger can play from the start, Aurelien Tchouameni can play as a pivot and Raul Asencio can play as a centre-back. Raul might play at right-back."

However, Lucas Vazquez has also been included in the squad, but it seems unlikely that he will be fit to feature against Man City after picking up a hamstring injury earlier this month.

"No (Vazquez is not ready). Not yet," Ancelotti said: "I think I'm going to put him on the bench but he hasn't completed his recovery process yet."

As a result, Federico Valverde will continue to operate as a full-back after starting on the right side of defence in Real Madrid's last two matches.

David Alaba has also been included in the squad for the second leg, although it remains to be seen whether he will be ready to play a role following a thigh problem.

Which Real Madrid players are at risk of suspension?

Bellingham, who was sent off in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Osasuna, is one of six Real Madrid players who will have to tread a fine line in Wednesday's second leg against Man City.

Bellingham, Rudiger, Tchouameni, Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga and Endrick are all one yellow card away from being hit with a one-match suspension.

Those six players have all picked up two yellow cards during the main draw, leaving them at risk of missing the first leg of a potential quarter-final.

Eder Militao has also collected two cautions in the Champions League campaign, but the defender is expected to miss the rest of the season through injury.

Militao is joined on the sidelines by right-back Dani Carvajal, with the pair working on their rehabilitation from anterior cruciate ligament injuries.

Real Madrid squad in full for Man City fixture

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Andriy Lunin, Sergio Mestre

Defenders: Lucas Vazquez, Raul Asencio, Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba, Jesus Vallejo, Fran Garcia, Ferland Mendy

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, Luka Modric, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos, Arda Guler

Forwards: Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo, Endrick, Brahim Diaz

Written by

Ben Sully