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Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola will conduct his pre-match press conference this evening ahead of tomorrow night's Champions League round of 16 first leg vs Real Madrid.
City enter the game full of confidence after beating Newcastle 3-1 in the FA Cup on Saturday night. The Blues have already beaten Real Madrid this season, coming from behind to win 2-1 at the Bernabeu in December.
Erling Haaland is Guardiola's main fitness concern heading into the game. The City boss chose not to pick Haaland for the trip to Newcastle but he did feature in open training this morning.
Guardiola is likely to talk about the challenge Real pose during his press conference. Kylian Mbappe returned to individual training on Monday but was not spotted with his teammates in their full-team session.
Follow Guardiola's press conference in the blog below...
13:46Jack Flintham
When will we hear from Guardiola?
Guardiola is expected to speak to the media from around 6pm (UK time). He will be joined at his press conference by a City player, as per UEFA rules.
13:45Jack Flintham
City training squad confirmed
City striker Erling Haaland was involved in training on Tuesday morning ahead of the Champions League tie vs Real Madrid on Wednesday. The Norway international did not travel to Newcastle on Saturday for the FA Cup fifth round clash. When asked about Haaland's absence, Pep Guardiola confirmed the Blues' leading goalscorer was not injured. "I didn't think to let him play and I prefer him training to [clicks fingers] make a rhythm," City's head coach said after the win over Newcastle.
"After injury when he drops he always struggles to have that real pace." Haaland recently missed the trip to Leeds United after suffering a minor ankle problem. However, the forward was back in the starting line-up last Wednesday as City drew 2-2 with Nottingham Forest.
Take a look at the full training squad here>>>
13:45Jack Flintham
Head to head record
City and Real have been evenly matched in their overall record. Both sides have won five games each with a further five ending in draws. As mentioned, City hold the most recent advantage having beaten them 2-1 in December. But, the Blues have lost to Real Madrid in their last two, two-legged games. The last time they were victorious over two legs against Real, they won the Champions League.
13:45Jack Flintham
Hello!
Good afternoon and welcome to the Guardiola press conference blog. City travel to Madrid today ahead of the Champions League clash with Real on Wednesday night. The Blues faced Los Blancos three times in 2025 but were only victorious once. That victory came in their most recent outing against Real Madrid in the league phase of the competition, so spirits will be high in Guardiola's camp.
City also hold home advantage in the second leg and that could be huge. When the Blues lost to Real in the play-offs last year, the La Liga giants pulled away at the Bernabeu in the return fixture. Hat-trick hero in that game Mbappe may not feature tomorrow night. He has returned to training after injury but was not spotted with his teammates on Tuesday.
The Blues' talisman - Haaland - did return to training on Tuesday and is expected to feature against Madrid.
Stay tuned for updates...
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