Real Madrid and Manchester City renew long-term rivalry in Champions League last-16

MADRID, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid has a large part of its season at stake and coach Alvaro Arbeloa has his future on the line when Manchester City visits the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday night.

Real Madrid goes into the game four points behind FC Barcelona in La Liga, but knowing the Champions League has traditionally been the club's favorite competition and that success in Europe can cure any domestic woes.

The flipside, however, is that an early exit from the tournament can be a knockout for a Real Madrid coach, and Arbeloa will know that failure to get past Manchester City will mean his tenure finishes at the end of the season.

The clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City is starting to become a Champions League classic, with the two sides meeting every year since 2022.

That season saw Real Madrid pull off a miraculous late comeback with Rodrygo scoring twice in injury time to force an extra 30 minutes, where Karim Benzema put Real Madrid into the final with a penalty.

Manchester City took its revenge the following year with a 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid, before the 2024 campaign saw Real Madrid knock Pep Guardiola's team out after a penalty shoot-out.

The two teams met in the intermediate stage last season, with Real Madrid beating a Manchester City that was struggling for form both in Europe and domestically, but the tables turned again in December when Manchester City enjoyed a 2-1 victory in the Santiago Bernabeu in the group stage that was easier than the final score implies.

Arbeloa has a long list of injuries to contend with as left back Alvaro Carreras became the latest casualty with a calf injury. He joins Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, Dani Ceballos, David Alaba, Eder Militao and Kylian Mbappe on the injury list, with Eduardo Camavinga a doubt after suffering a dental problem that left him unable to play away to Celta Vigo on Friday night.

The loss of Mbappe, his niggling knee problem, and Rodrygo, who is out for several months after tearing his cruciate knee ligament, means Vinicius Jr will again carry the weight of the Real Madrid attack, while Arbeloa has to decide whether to show faith in Trent Alexander Arnold, who adds creativity for Real Madrid, but is more vulnerable defensively than Dani Carvajal.

Elsewhere, Antonio Rudiger and Raul Asencio will play in central defense with Aurelien Tchouameni in the midfield holding role he has made his own this season. The Frenchman will have to be careful, as he and Vinicius are a yellow card away from suspension and their loss for next week's return leg in Manchester would be a huge blow for Real Madrid and Arbeloa. ■