Five Real Madrid players at risk of suspension heading into Man City encounter | OneFootball

Real Madrid and Manchester City face each other on Tuesday night in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie in the UEFA Champions League.

Los Blancos already have one foot through the doors into the quarterfinals, having beaten the Cityzens 3-0 in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, courtesy of a Fede Valverde hat-trick.

Alvaro Arbeloa & co. will be aiming to guard against complacency at the Etihad as they look to finish the job and progress to the next round.

Suspension risk

However, heading into the match, a significant number of players from Real Madrid are one yellow card away from suspension.

If they are booked in this match, they would miss the first leg of the quarterfinals should their team progress.

Real Madrid currently have six players walking the disciplinary tightrope. One of them is Rodrygo, who will not feature because he is injured and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

Tchouameni, Huijsen also at suspension risk. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

So, effectively, five Los Blancos players could get suspended for the first leg of the quarterfinals if they are cautioned at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow.

These players are Alvaro Carreras, Aurelien Tchouameni, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr. and Dean Huijsen.

Of these five players, Carreras is currently on four yellow cards, while the remaining four have two each. Another warning from the referee would see them earn an automatic one-match ban – a scenario Real Madrid will be keen on avoiding before the hypothetical quarterfinals.

Among these players, Tchouameni, Huijsen and Vinicius are expected to start the match and will have key roles.

Meanwhile, Carreras’ involvement remains in doubt, given he has only recovered from a knock. Bellingham, too, seems unlikely to play a part despite being named in the squad, having been out for months now.