The first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 between Real Madrid and Manchester City is by far the most-awaited clash of the week. The team coached by Alvaro Arbeloa will host Pep Guardiola’s men at the Bernabeu for what has become a classic tie over the past few editions of the European tournament. Real Madrid will have to deal with the absences of both Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, as Arbeloa explained in the pre-match press conference ahead of the game. Speaking on the French star, Arbeloa said, “He’s much better. As I’ve mentioned over the past weeks, it’s a day-to-day process to see how he evolves. This entire week has been very positive, and he’s returned with great sensations. Every day he’s getting better, and we’re expecting him back very soon.”
Pep Guardiola, on the other hand, will be back again at the Bernabeu, where he had some incredible games over the years since he was a Barcelona player and then manager: “Emotions come when you play bad or the opponent is better. It’s not the first time we are here. We’ve been many times, and in these competitions, it’s so important. You never know what is going to happen, but good things cannot happen if you are not who you are. It’s impossible. I prefer to be here than not to be here. I prefer to come here to play in the last 16 because that means we are in the elite of Europe. For me, it’s learning and young players, it’s experience for the future. We want to continue, and this is the way we have to approach the game.”
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match against Manchester City that will take place on Tuesday:
Viewing information
- Date: Wednesday, March 11 | Time: 4 p.m. ET
- Location: Bernabeu — Madrid
- Live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: Real Madrid +256; Draw +271; Man City -102
Possible lineups
Real Madrid XI: Thibaut Courtois; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Raul Asencio, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy; Federico Valverde, Arda Guler, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga; Gonzalo Garcia, Vinicius Junior.
Manchester City XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma; Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi, Rayan Ait Nouri; Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Nico O’Reilly; Antoine Semenyo, Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku.
Prediction
We can definitely expect a lot of goals and action from these two sides on Wednesday for what is considered to be the most exciting tie of the Round of 16. Pick: Real Madrid 2, Man City 3.
How to watch UCL
All of the action on Matchday 5 of the UEFA Champions League can be caught on Paramount+, while CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network will have select simultaneous coverage. Each day’s coverage begins with Champions League Matchday, streaming on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network ahead of the early games before the UEFA Champions League Today pre-match show begins on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network. The Golazo Show on Paramount+ also returns for the late slate of matches, while the UEFA Champions League Today post-match show on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network picks things up at the end of the day. The day’s coverage concludes on CBS Sports Golazo Network with The Champions Club (also streamed live on YouTube) and Scoreline.
