Manchester City vs Real Madrid (UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch | OneFootball

Winless in their last two games, Manchester City now look to stage the ultimate comeback against Real Madrid to avoid elimination from the UEFA Champions League at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Blues will face last year’s La Liga runners-up for the third time this season as they enter the tie trailing 3-0 courtesy of a first-half hat-trick from Federico Valverde in the first leg in Madrid last week.

On Saturday night, Pep Guardiola‘s side travelled to the London Stadium to take on relegation-threatened West Ham in a bid to draw closer to Arsenal at the top of the table after the Gunners’ 2-0 win over Everton 30 minutes before kick-off in east London.

City looked well in control of opening stages and Bernardo Silva was the man to capitalise on this control with a deft chip over Hammers keeper Mads Hermansen in the 31st minute. Whether it was meant as a shot or a cross is debatable but what is for sure is that the more dominant side were the ones to break the deadlock.

Despite this, it took just four minutes for West Ham to get themselves back into the game with their first and only shot of the match. Gianluigi Donnarumma misjudged Jarrod Bowen’s corner kick, leaving Konstantinos Mavropanos to take advantage and bring his side level.

From there on, the story played out in the same way as so many games have in recent times, Manchester City in total control of the ball with no end product. City attempted 21 shots to West Ham’s one and maintained 71% possession throughout the match, but in the end it wouldn’t be enough for anything more than a point.

In their next match, City must now put all of that behind them as they look to become just the fifth team in UEFA Champions League history to overturn a three goal deficit in the second leg of a knockout round.

Real Madrid come into this one off the back of a 4-1 win against Elche, wherein Turkish sensation Arda Guler scored from deep within his own half. Despite a number of injuries, confidence will be at a high in the Real Madrid camp with four wins from their last five matches.

However, the Blues have famously won with their backs against the wall before so some wariness will no doubt be creeping in. Manchester City fans will be hoping that the Blues can produce yet another iconic comeback win in order to keep hopes of European glory alive for this season.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of Manchester City’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid!

Match Details

Manchester City vs Real Madrid will take place at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday 17 January, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 UK.

Match Officials

Clement Turpin will referee this fixture for the second time this season, having overseen Manchester City’s 2-1 win against Real Madrid in the group-phase in December 2025.

You can check out the full team of referees appointed to this week’s fixtures below!

Team News

For Manchester City, Josko Gvardiol is set to miss out on action until the end of May. Savinho missed the weekend trip to West Ham as he was “not fully fit”, with Erling Haaland also understood to have felt pain in his groin on Saturday at the London Stadium.

Real Madrid have eight key players unavailable through injury. They will be without Eder Militao (muscle injury), Rodrygo (ACL), Jude Bellingham (hamstring), Dani Ceballos (calf), David Alaba (calf), Ferland Mendy (muscle injury), Alvaro Carreras (calf) and Kylian Mbappe (knee). Of those listed, only Mendy was available for the last match.

Press Conference Quotes

Pep Guardiola is slated to speak to the press at 12:30 UK on Monday to preview the Round of 16 return leg. Refresh for more updates.

Head To Head

This will be the third time this season that the two sides have faced one another. At present, the head-to-head record for the campaign is level, with both teams claiming a victory.

Manchester City won the league phase encounter 2-1 thanks to goals from Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland; while Real Madrid, of course, secured a commanding 3-0 win in the first leg of the Round of 16 tie in Madrid last week.

Real Madrid have had the upper hand in the most recent meetings between the clubs, winning four of the last five encounters. Despite that recent run, the overall record between the two remains extremely tight. City have recorded five victories compared to Los Blancos’ six, while five matches have ended in draws – across the 16 meetings played between the sides.

The fixture has also proven to be a consistently entertaining one for supporters. Across those 16 games, there have been a total of 54 goals scored, with Manchester City contributing 26 and Real Madrid edging slightly ahead with 28. With such a narrow margin separating the two historically, their meetings have often produced dramatic and high-scoring contests.

Statistics

This fixture has seen 54 goals in 16 matches, an average of 3.37 goals per game.

In the 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, the winner of the Real Madrid vs Man City knockout tie went on to lift the UEFA Champions League trophy.

Prior to the 2024-25 season, Real Madrid had never won a game at the Etihad Stadium in six attempts (three draws and three losses).

Federico Valverde’s 22-minute hat-trick in the first leg is the fastest treble recorded in this fixture.

Real Madrid have kept a clean sheet in four of the 16 meetings, while Manchester City have only managed two clean sheets against the Spanish giants.

How To Watch

Viewers in the UK will be able to watch on Amazon Prime Video. Radio coverage will be available on BBC Radio Manchester.

For those watching in the USA, the match will be available on Paramount+ and DAZN.

A full list of global TV listings can be found here!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on X, Facebook and Instagram throughout the matchday, with content also on cityxtra.co.uk!