Real Madrid v Man City prediction: How will Champions League fixture play out tonight?
Manchester City produced a stunning late comeback at the Bernabeu to claim a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League tie.
Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne, the latter from the penalty spot, both struck in the final 12 minutes to give Pep Guardiola's side a brilliant victory after falling behind to an Isco strike.
To make matters worse for Real, captain Sergio Ramos was sent off in the closing stages for denying Jesus another goalscoring opportunity.
City had gone into the last-16 encounter under a cloud after recently being banned from the competition for the next two years.
That issue will continue to overshadow their immediate future but their fine display under pressure in Madrid at least breathed new life into their current campaign.
Welcome to our live coverage of Real Madrid vs Manchester City, which kicks off at 8pm GMT. Michael will be here shortly with all the team news and buildup. In the meantime, here's Miguel Delaney dissecting the Guardiola-Zidane rivalry:
On Monday Night Football, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, went through the ten greatet English sides and compared their achievements with the current Man City and Liverpool teams.
They decided that for Pep Guardiola's Man City to go down as one of the great teams they would need to win the Champions League.
With Liverpool almost certain to lift the Premier League trophy this season Pep's men can turn their full attention to the top European prize but Real Madrid stand in their way.
Man City have never beaten Real Madrid. The two side have met four times, all in the Champions League. City have lost both games they've played at the Bernabeu and drawn both matches at the Etihad.
Real Madrid manager, Zinedine Zidane, hopes that Eden Hazard may recover from injury before the end of the season but he's not confident.
He said: "I don't know if his season is over, I don't know but I hope not,
"I don't know if he will need an operation, it's not my area. I can see he's not happy.
"It's important he stays positive but of course it's difficult. It's a bad moment, it won't be easy and he will feel like this for a while."
Hazard, 29, joined Real from Chelsea over the summer for an initial deal worth £89m. He scored one goal in 15 games for the Spanish giants and fractured his ankle in the 1-0 loss to Levante on Saturday.
Real Madrid make three changes to the side that lost to Levante at the weekend. Ferland Mendy, Vinicius Jr and Fede Valverde come into the starting XI with Toni Kroos and Gareth Bale on the bench.
Pep Guardiola names an interesting team to face them with Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Raheem Sterling all on the bench.
Gabriel Jesus replaces Aguero up front with Nicolas Otamendi coming in for David Silva.
Man City will be looking to go all the way to the final in this season's Champions League as it could be their last attempt for two years after being banned by Uefa. However the reigning Premier League champions have launched an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport and are confident they will overturn their Champions League ban and €30m fine for Financial Fair Play breaches:
Real Madrid have a good record against English opposition. They've won everyone of their last four Champions League knockout matches against English sides.
5-0 on aggregate vs Tottenham in the 2010/11 quarter-finals, 3-2 vs Manchester United in the 2012/13 last-16, 1-0 vs Manchester City in the 2015/16 semi-final, and 3-1 vs Liverpool in the 2017/18 final.
Real Madrid have made it to the Champions League knockout stages for the 23rd consecutive season. It is a run that began in 1997/98 and is the longest run of any side in the history of the tournament.
Pep Guardiola gives his thoughts on Man City's opposition tonight, he said:
"This is the real test. The kings of this competition against one team who aren't used to playing these kind of games much, as our best performance was one semi-final,
"We have to show our personality. I know my players, myself, all the club want to fight until the end for this title.
"But if you want to do that [win the title] you have to face these teams sooner or later. You have to beat Madrid, you have to beat Barcelona, you have to beat Bayern Munich. You have to beat the big, big teams.
"If we're able to do it we'll be so happy. If not then next season... well, next season I don't know but when we are able to play we are going to come back."
The kings of the competition? Quite possibly.
Real Madird have won a record 11 European Cups, including four in the past six years.
All the English sides have lost the first legs of the last-16 so far. Tottenham lost 1-0 to RB Leipzig and Aletico Madrid squeezed past Liverpool with the same scoreline.
Last night Bayern Munich blasted Chelsea away 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. Will Man City stop the rot tonight for the English sides?
All the English sides have lost the first legs of the last-16 so far. Tottenham lost 1-0 to RB Leipzig and Aletico Madrid squeezed past Liverpool with the same scoreline.
Last night Bayern Munich blasted Chelsea away 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. Will Man City stop the rot tonight for the English sides?
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Fernandinho, Laporte, Mendy; Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne; B.Silva, Sterling, Aguero. (4-3-3).
Team news
Raheem Sterling is expected to be available for selection, while Leroy Sane, who damaged his anterior cruciate ligament in City’s Community Shield win over Liverpool is unlikely to be risked.
Belgian star Eden Hazard will be unavailable after fracturing his ankle for the second time in Madrid career at the weekend. Marco Asensio is still recovering from a serious knee injury which he suffered during pre-season, whilst Gareth Bale is likely to feature after missing the Levante game through illness.
What time is Real Madrid v Manchester City?
The match kicks off at 8pm GMT at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Prediction?
Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City. Guardiola has the nous and the firepower at his disposal to pull off a big result.
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