Manchester City from England needs a miracle when they host Real Madrid from Spain on Tuesday (12:00 UAE time) in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16. At the Etihad Stadium, City will attempt to overturn their away defeat to the record-holding champions (15 titles), who secured a 3-0 clean sheet with a goal from Uruguayan Federico Valverde in the first half. The team led by Spanish manager Pep Guardiola does not appear to be in a good technical or moral state. Following their heavy defeat in Madrid, the team stumbled in the Premier League at home against West Ham 1-1, which allowed Arsenal to open up a nine-point lead at the top of the table. This summit has become one of the classics of the European competition, with the teams facing each other 11 times since the 2020 season and 15 times in total since their first meeting in the group stage of the 2013 season. Real Madrid won its sixth match in 16 encounters against City, with five losses and five draws, avenging its 1-2 defeat to Guardiola's men in Madrid in the sixth round of the single group stage on December 10. Real Madrid achieved a major victory despite the absence of nine key players due to injury, most notably their French striker Kylian Mbappé and Englishman Jude Bellingham, as well as Brazilian Rodrigo. Mbappé is expected to return to the squad but is unlikely to start the match after the Frenchman, who has been absent since late February due to a sprained left knee, participated in team training for the first time on Sunday. Manager Álvaro Arbeló announced on Saturday that Mbappé, who appeared in several photos and videos released by the club, would train normally for the first time since missing the match against Benfica on February 25.
