The bright lights of the Etihad will shine down on two of Europe's superpowers on Tuesday evening, as Real Madrid travel to the north of England for a Champions League playoff first leg with Manchester City.
Carlo Ancelotti's reigning champions remarkably missed out on a top-eight berth in the league phase as they finished 11th in the 36-team table, albeit only missing out on direct last-16 qualification by one point.
Los Blancos arrive in Manchester on the back of a tightly-contested 1-1 draw with city rivals Atletico Madrid in La Liga, a result that saw Ancelotti's men retain their one-point lead over Los Rojiblancos at the summit of the table.
Here, Sports Mole rounds up the team's injury and suspension news ahead of the showdown with Man City, who also under-performed in the league phase as they wound up in 22nd place.
Lucas Vazquez
© Imago
Status: Out
Type of injury: Hamstring
Possible return date: March 2 (vs. Real Betis)
Real Madrid announced on Sunday that right-back Lucas Vazquez had been diagnosed with a hamstring injury, and the long-serving Spaniard is likely to spend the next three weeks out of action.
© Imago
Status: Out
Type of injury: Adductor
Possible return date: March 2 (vs. Real Betis)
The luckless David Alaba had only just made his return from a serious knee injury before being sidelined again with an adductor problem, one that is expected to keep him out until the end of February.
© Imago
Status: Out
Type of injury: Knee
Possible return date: Unknown
Long-serving right-back Dani Carvajal will not play again this season on account of the devastating knee injury he suffered in October, and the Spaniard could very well be ceding his place in the team to Trent Alexander-Arnold next year.
© Imago
Status: Out
Type of injury: Knee
Possible return date: Unknown
Sympathies go out to the unfortunate Eder Militao, who is currently on the mend from his second ACL injury in quick succession, one that will also render him unavailable until the end of the term.
© Imago
Status: Out
Type of injury: Thigh
Possible return date: March 2 (vs. Real Betis)
Completing Real Madrid's list of defensive absentees, Antonio Rudiger picked up a thigh injury at the start of February, and the former Chelsea man is expected to miss the rest of the month.
REAL MADRID'S SUSPENSION LIST
Real Madrid have no players suspended for this match, but Aurelien Tchouameni, Luka Modric, Endrick, Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham and Ancelotti himself will all be banned for the second leg if they are booked at the Etihad.
Ben Knapton
