Manchester City vs Real Madrid Champions League preview: where to watch, predicted line-ups, team news

Manchester City host Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 on 7 August at 21:00 CET. This page will update with team news, quotes and expert analysis as kick-off approaches.

Where to watch the game on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.

What happened in the first leg?

Isco gave Madrid the lead on 26 February, but City bounced back to claim a memorable away win thanks to Gabriel Jesus' header and Kevin De Bruyne's penalty. Sergio Ramos was sent off late on.

Possible line-ups

City: Ederson; Walker, Fernandinho, Laporte, João Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gündoğan; Mahrez, Jesus, Sterling
Out: Agüero (knee), Mendy (suspended)
Players added to squad: Bazunu
Players removed from squad: Sané

Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Éder Militão, Mendy; Casemiro, Kroos, Modrić, Hazard, Vinícius Júnior; Benzema
Out: Ramos (suspended), Mariano Díaz (illness)
Doubtful: Marcelo (adductor)
Misses next game if booked: Modrić, Valverde
Players added to squad: none
Players removed from squad: none

Expert predictions

Simon Hart, Man. City reporter: Post-shutdown, City won nine from 12, yet their three defeats suffered mean they have lost 11 games in all competitions this season (compared with six in 2018/19), underlining once more their increased vulnerability, notably to counterattacks. Given their advantage in the tie, could this mean a more cautious approach from Guardiola? Sergio Agüero's absence is a setback but, given a record of just two clean sheets from 11 European knockout matches under Guardiola, getting the defence right on Friday appears key.

Graham Hunter, Real Madrid reporter: Winning your national title brings confidence. Los Blancos are a different outfit from the one sucker-punched, twice, by City back in February. Madrid's 30 points out of 30 to win the Liga after the restart indicates their mood, fitness and unity of spirit. Zinedine Zidane has told his team they face four finals now – this all-or-nothing return leg, plus three one-off ties – if they want to win back the trophy. Trailing 2-1, with Ramos suspended, the odds don't favour them. But beware declaring this robust group down and out.

Latest results

Manchester City
Form: WWLWW (all competitions, most recent first)
Where they finished: 2nd in Premier League, League Cup winners

Real Madrid
Form: DWWWW
Where they finished: 1st in Liga

What the coaches say

Pep Guardiola, City coach: "It was a long time ago that we played the first leg. We knew after the game we would have another here at home. It is without our [fans] but we will try to have a good game. We want to win this competition for sure. We have to beat Madrid and teams like Madrid if we want to win. I have the feeling today that we are ready to play the game tomorrow and have a good performance and win the game. That is my feeling. We are ready."

Zinédine Zidane, Madrid coach: "I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but it's going to be a good match between two very good teams, and that's the most important thing. There are four finals if we want to go all the way, and this is the first one. The important thing is that we're all fit, because we've had ten days to prepare for the match. Hazard is fine."

Previous meetings

• There was only one goal in the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League semi-final between the clubs. After the first game in Manchester ended scoreless, a 20th-minute own goal from City's Fernando at the Santiago Bernabéu proved enough to take Madrid into the final, where they beat neighbours Atlético on penalties.

• The sides' only other competitive fixtures came in the 2012/13 group stage, when Madrid twice came from behind to win 3-2 in Spain on Matchday 1. City led twice through Edin Džeko (68) and Aleksandar Kolarov (85) but Madrid responded through Marcelo (76) and Karim Benzema (87) before Cristiano Ronaldo snatched a 90th-minute victory.

• It was 1-1 in Manchester, Sergio Agüero's penalty cancelling out Benzema's tenth-minute strike. Madrid ended with ten men as Álvaro Arbeloa collected a second yellow card in fouling Agüero to concede that spot kick.

• Those four points helped José Mourinho's Madrid finish second in Group D, behind Borussia Dortmund; City, then managed by Roberto Mancini, ended bottom with three points having not won a game.

Form guide

Manchester City
• City picked up 14 points in Group C to finish seven clear at the top. At home they beat Dinamo Zagreb (2-0) and Atalanta (5-1) before a six-match UEFA Champions League winning streak at their own stadium ended with a 1-1 draw against Shakhtar on Matchday 5.

• City have scored 32 goals in their last 11 UEFA Champions League matches; since losing at home to Lyon on Matchday 1 last season (1-2) their record is W12 D3 L1 with 47 goals scored and 15 conceded.

• This is the Citizens' ninth UEFA Champions League campaign and their seventh successive round of 16 appearance.

• In 2018/19, City brushed aside Schalke 10-2 on aggregate in the last 16, winning 3-2 in Germany and 7-0 at home – their record victory in UEFA club competition. That made City's last-16 aggregate record W3 L3, with wins in their last two ties.

• For the second year running, City lost to English opposition in the quarter-finals in 2018/19, Tottenham eliminating them on away goals after a dramatic 4-4 aggregate draw (0-1 a, 4-3 h). Having also gone out to Liverpool in 2017/18 (0-3 a, 1-2 h), City have not lost a two-legged knockout tie to a non-English club since going out on away goals to Monaco in the 2016/17 round of 16 (5-3 h, 1-3 a).

• City have therefore won their last two home matches in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase – and three of the last five (L2) – but overall have won only four of their ten knockout matches in the competition in Manchester (D2 L4). In the round of 16, their home record is W2 D1 L3.

• City's record against Spanish clubs in two-legged knockout ties is W1 L4, with defeats in each of the last four. They have twice lost to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, in both 2013/14 (1-4 aggregate) and 2014/15 (1-3).

• The Citizens won their first home knockout game against Spanish visitors, defeating Athletic Club 3-0 in the 1969/70 European Cup Winners' Cup first round second leg (6-3 aggregate) but are without a victory in their four subsequent matches (D2 L2). The win in Madrid was only their second knockout victory against Liga opponents, home and away (D3 L6).

• City's last home game against a Spanish club brought a 3-1 defeat of Barcelona in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group stage, after a 4-0 loss in Spain that remains their heaviest defeat in UEFA competition. Their home record against Spanish sides is W4 D3 L2, both defeats coming against Barcelona.

Kevin De Bruyne reacts during Manchester City's home defeat by Barcelona in 2016Getty Images

• Josep Guardiola's side have won 13 of their last 22 European matches, home and away, losing six.

• Champions of England for the second season running and sixth overall – four of those titles having come in the last eight years – City also lifted the FA Cup and League Cup in 2018/19, becoming the first English club to win all three domestic trophies in one season.

• City have never failed to win a European tie after an away first-leg victory. There have been ten such contests, most recently against Schalke in last season's round of 16 (3-2 a, 7-0 h). They have twice won 2-1 away in the first game, against Omonia in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup first round (2-1 h) and Porto in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 32 (4-0 h).

• City's record in two UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L0:
4-2 v Midtjylland, 2008/09 UEFA Cup second qualifying round
4-3 v Aalborg, 2008/09 UEFA Cup round of 16

Real Madrid
• Zinédine Zidane's side picked up 11 points in this season's group stage, finishing second in Group B behind Paris Saint-Germain, who beat the Spanish side 3-0 in France on Matchday 1. Their other away games brought wins at Galatasaray (1-0) and Club Brugge (3-1).

• Rodrygo's hat-trick in the 6-0 home win against Galatasaray on Matchday 4 was the 12th scored by a Real Madrid player in the competition, one fewer than record holders Barcelona. At 18 years 301 days, he was the second youngest UEFA Champions League hat-trick scorer after former Madrid striker Raúl González, who was aged 18 years 113 days when he scored his only treble against Ferencváros in 1995/96.

• Madrid have now finished second in their group three times in four seasons.

• Last season Madrid did win their section but a team then coached by Santiago Solari won 2-1 at Ajax in the round of 16 first leg only to bow out 5-3 on aggregate after a 4-1 home defeat.

• Last season was the first since 2009/10 in which Madrid failed to reach the semi-finals or better. Their round of 16 record is W9 L7; they lost at this stage for six years in succession between 2005 and 2010 but had won eight ties in a row before losing to Ajax.

• Madrid have won their last seven away matches in the round of 16, since a 1-1 draw at CSKA Moskva in 2011/12; they scored 19 goals in those seven victories, conceding five. Their last round of 16 defeat on the road – and fourth in a row – was against Lyon in 2009/10 (0-1).

• Madrid have won 16 of their last 25 European away matches, losing just five.

• This is the 13-time champions' 50th European Cup campaign, more than any other side.

• Third in Spain in 2018/19, this is Madrid's 24th UEFA Champions League campaign – a joint record along with Barcelona. They have qualified for the knockout rounds in all of their 24 seasons, also a competition best.

• Madrid's record in two-legged knockout ties against English clubs is W8 L4; they have won their last three such contests, most recently that 2016 success against City.

• Madrid's last game against an English club before the first leg was a 3-1 defeat of Liverpool in the 2018 UEFA Champions League final in Kyiv, substitute Gareth Bale finding the net twice – including a stunning overhead effort – after Karim Benzema had opened the scoring.

• The Merengues' last away game against an English club was a 3-1 defeat by Tottenham in the 2017/18 group stage, ending Madrid's 12-game unbeaten run against Premier League sides (W8 D4). It was their first loss to English opposition since a 4-0 reverse at Liverpool in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg – their record UEFA Champions League defeat.

• Madrid's away record against English clubs is W6 D4 L6. They were unbeaten in five trips (W3 D2) before losing at Tottenham.

• Madrid have lost the home first leg six times in UEFA competition and won only one tie, recovering from a 1-0 loss with a 2-0 win at Wacker Innsbruck in the 1970/71 European Cup Winners' Cup second round. Most recently, they lost to Barcelona in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League semi-finals (0-2 h, 1-1 a). They have never previously lost the home first leg 1-2.

• Only five times in the UEFA Champions League era has a team turned round a tie after a home first-leg defeat, although three of those occurred in 2018/19; Tottenham against Ajax in the semi-finals (0-1 h, 3-2 a) and, in the round of 16, Manchester United against Paris-Saint Germain (0-2 h, 3-1 a) and Ajax against Madrid themselves (1-2 h, 4-1 a).

• Madrid's record in four UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L2:
5-6 v Crvena zvezda, 1974/75 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final
3-1 v Juventus, 1986/87 European Champion Clubs' Cup second round
1-3 v Bayern München, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League semi-final
5-3 v Atlético Madrid, 2015/16 UEFA Champions League final

Links and trivia

• Brahim Díaz made five appearances, all as a substitute, in City's victorious 2017/18 Premier League campaign. He joined the Manchester club in 2013 and also made three UEFA Champions League appearances in 2017/18 before signing for Madrid in January 2019.

• Between 2008 and 2012, Guardiola amassed 14 trophies as Barcelona coach, including the UEFA Champions League in 2009 and 2011 – beating Madrid in the semi-finals in the latter campaign – and three successive Liga titles (2009–11). Guardiola met Madrid 15 times as Barcelona coach (W9 D4 L2) and outscored the Merengues 33-15. In his playing days, Guardiola's Liga record against Madrid was P14 W6 D5 L3.

• Guardiola's Bayern München side lost 5-0 on aggregate to Madrid (0-1 a, 0-4 h) in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

• Have also played in England:
Luka Modrić (Tottenham 2008–12)
Gareth Bale (Tottenham 2007–13)
Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea 2014–18)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea 2012–19)

• Have played in Spain:
Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad 2006–14, Barcelona 2014–16)
Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Club 2012–18)
Nicolás Otamendi (Valencia 2014/15)
Rodri (Villarreal 2016–18, Atlético Madrid 2018/19)
David Silva (Valencia 2000–10, Eibar 2004/05 (loan), Celta Vigo 2005/06 (loan))
Sergio Agüero (Atlético Madrid 2006–11)

• International team-mates:
Éder Militão, Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior, Marcelo, Casemiro & Ederson, Gabriel Jesus, Fernandinho (Brazil)
Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois & Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)
Raphäel Varane, Ferland Mendy, Alphonse Areola & Benjamin Mendy (France)
Toni Kroos & İlkay Gündoğan (Germany)
Sergio Ramos, Nacho, Dani Carvajal, Isco, Marco Asensio & Rodri (Spain)

• Raheem Sterling scored twice as England won 3-2 against a Spain side containing Sergio Ramos, Nacho and Marco Asensio – with Rodri an unused substitute – in the UEFA Nations League in October 2018. Ramos was on target for the home side.