Manchester City vs Real Madrid LIVE: Team news as Mbappe returns with Guardiola demanding ‘perfect’ Champions League

Pep Guardiola freshens up his full-backs with Matheus Nunes and Rayan Ait-Nouri into the starting side.

Manchester City XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Dias, Ait-Nouri; Rodri; Cherki, Silva, Reijnders, Doku; Haaland.

Kylian Mbappe is back on the bench for Real Madrid, with Fran Garcia in for the absent Ferland Mendy at left-back.

Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Garcia; Valverde, Thiago, Tchouameni; Guler, Diaz, Vinicius Jr.

We should get team news in the next little while, with plenty of eyes on what Pep Guardiola does after copping some flak for his selection in the Spanish capital.

Erling Haaland could be key to Manchester City’s hopes of turning the tie around, and Real defender Antonio Rudiger is relishing another contest with the Norway forward, with the pair having become familiar foes in recent years.

“Players like Haaland – it’s a huge pleasure to play against this type of player,” Rudiger said on the eve of the match in Manchester.

“I like the physical battle, I want it and need it, the same as him. I’m looking forward to it.

“He’s a world-class striker, very strong, and I like these type of duels.”

Rudiger acknowledged his combative approach as he addressed recent claims from Getafe defender Diego Rico about his conduct.

Rico said Rudiger committed an “assault” against him in a challenge earlier this month.

“In slow motion it looks terrible but in the action itself and also what the player said, it was like I almost killed him,” Rudiger said.

“He doesn’t need to exaggerate because if I’d had the intention to do that he wouldn’t have stood up.

“I don’t justify it but the way he spoke after the game was like I killed him, but he was running afterwards. We all know I like to be tough on the pitch but I still have boundaries. I am a human being.”

Rodri insisted that more dropped points were not the end of Manchester City’s title chances.

It’s not just in Europe where Manchester City’s trophy hopes took a big blow last week – Lawrence Ostlere was at the London Stadium to watch them slip to a draw with struggling West Ham, with Pep Guardiola offering an intriguing comment afterwards.

Manchester City, meanwhile, risked the wrath of (or at least a slap on the wrist from) Uefa after cancelling a training session on match eve.

Real Madrid will get one of their protagonists back in the form of Kylian Mbappe tonight – but Jude Bellingham remains absent:

Here, meanwhile, is a look back at the first leg, with Richard Jolly in attendance at the Bernabeu to see the Real Madrid understudies take on leading roles..

The prospects of progress for Manchester City seem slim, but Richard Jolly heard yesterday how they have a plan to rock Real Madrid: