Real Madrid vs Man City LIVE: Champions League match stream, latest team news, lineups, TV, prediction | OneFootball

Xabi Alonso on thin ice ahead of crunch fixture

Real Madrid vs Man City LIVE

Mike Egerton/PA Wire

Pep Guardiola is back in Spain this evening as his Man City side face Real Madrid in the Champions League. A highly decorated player and manager with Barcelona, he will surely have Catalonian pride coursing through his veins as he walks out at the Santiago Bernabeu this evening - and he has a point to prove, too. City have won just one of their last seven meetings with Los Blancos, losing each of their last three. This means that Real knocked Guardiola’s side out of the Champions League in both of the last two seasons.

Time today, then, for Guardiola to get his own back, and the stars have aligned to do that rather emphatically. With Real mired in second place in La Liga and near-perfect in the Champions League, reports have emerged in Spain claiming manager Xabi Alonso has lost the dressing room and could be on the chopping block should he fail to get a result here.

To send Alonso packing with a big win would certainly represent a moral victory for Guardiola, but he will have to do so without the aid of Rodri or John Stones. Follow the game LIVE below with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog, featuring expert insight and analysis.