Real Madrid enter Wednesday’s Champions League play-off second leg with a 3-2 advantage to preserve as Manchester City aim to mount an unlikely comeback.

The Cityzens seemed destined to take a 2-1 lead into the return fixture but collapsed late on and allowed Madrid to steal a 3-2 win at the Etihad last week.

Pep Guardiola’s side impressed in swathes during the first leg before their well-documented frailties reared their ugly head again, but they do head into Wednesday’s bout off the back of an Omar Marmoush-inspired 4-0 beatdown of Newcastle on Saturday.

Madrid’s voodoo magic in this competition worked wonders yet again in Manchester, but they continued to stutter domestically at the weekend. Osasuna is a tricky place to visit, and Carlo Ancelotti’s side were held to a 1-1 draw after Jude Bellingham was sent off for supposedly foul-mouthing referee Jose Munuera Montero.

Bellingham, however, will be available for City’s visit as the 15-time winners aim to book their place in the round of 16.

Here is 90min’s guide to the game.

Real Madrid vs Man City head-to-head results (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

The hosts have gotten healthier since the first leg, with Antonio Rudiger the most notable star returning to Ancelotti’s matchday squad. The German has been out for a couple of weeks with a muscle injury, but he’s returned to training ahead of Wednesday’s game and should be involved from the outset.

Lucas Vazquez is also back in contention, but the boss has confirmed that he won’t be in Wednesday’s starting lineup.

David Alaba is closing in on a return. Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal are long-term absentees. Jude Bellingham’s domestic suspension does not carry over into the Champions League.

Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Man City (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Valverde, Tchouameni, Rudiger, Mendy; Camavinga, Ceballos; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr; Mbappe.

While City will be without Manuel Akanji for weeks due to the injury he sustained in the first leg which forced him off at half-time, they have received multiple boosts on the fitness front. Jack Grealish, Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias are all back in training having missed Saturday’s win over Newcastle.

Dias should come straight back into Guardiola’s XI, potentially partnering John Stones at centre-back.

Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva also earned breathers at the weekend and are contenders to make returns, while Omar Marmoush is a certainty to start after his recent hat-trick heroics. Erling Haaland is expected to be fit despite tweaking his knee on Saturday.

Man City predicted lineup vs Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Lewis, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Gonzalez, Bernardo; Savinho, De Bruyne, Marmoush; Haaland.

This is not a supreme Madrid outfit, but they are superstar-laden, and although City performed pretty well last week, the visitors scythed through the Cityzens when they moved through the gears.

Superior City teams have succumbed at the Bernabeu, with their only triumph on this ground arriving just before the COVID-19 pandemic when Kevin De Bruyne stole the show. Thus, it’s a huge ask for this flawed iteration to rock up in the Spanish capital and win.

Both teams will relinquish control and likely facilitate a bit of chaos – a game state which doubtlessly favours the hosts. Expect more goals in a home win.

Prediction: Real Madrid 4-2 Man City

READ THE LATEST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS, PREVIEWS & RATINGS HERE