When the expanded Champions League format was unveiled, few would have envisaged Manchester City and Real Madrid meeting in the knockout playoff round. Least of all UEFA.
But that’s the predicament the winners of the past three tournaments are in as they face up to another mouthwatering encounter over the next two weeks.
First up is a trip to the Etihad Stadium for Madrid, a ground where they have never won in six previous attempts.
However, the two-legged semifinal and quarterfinal encounters in 2022 and 2024 respectively fell in Los Blancos’ favour, with Carlo Ancelotti’s men prevailing on penalties in Manchester last year after the teams could not be separated.
City have been well below their usual level under Pep Guardiola this season and face a tough battle to finish in the Premier League’s Champions League qualification places.
The former Barcelona icon will hope his side are inspired to move back towards the heights of their 4-0 semifinal win over Madrid on their own patch in 2023, a performance that arguably stands as City’s finest in the Guardiola era.
The Sporting News is following the Manchester City vs. Real Madrid match live, providing score updates and commentary
Latest live updates | Team news and lineups | Where to watch where you are
Man City vs. Real Madrid score
| 1st Half | Goalscorers | |
| Man City | — | |
| Real Madrid | — |
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Referee: Clement Turpin (France)
Keep track of every game and every goal via SN’s live Premier League scoreboard
Lineups:
Man City (4-1-4-1, right to left): Ederson (GK) — Akanji, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol — Stones — Savinho, De Bruyne, Silva, Grealish—Haaland.
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1, right to left): Courtois (GK) — Valverde, Tchouameni, Asencio, Mendy — Ceballos, Camavinga — Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr —Mbappe.
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Man City vs. Real Madrid live updates, highlights, and commentary
20 mins before kickoff: You wouldn’t have thought Guardiola would pick a team on this basis, but there are five Madrid players who would miss the second leg if they are booked tonight, including Bellingham and Tchouameni. Perhaps Grealish will go out with a little mischief in mind…
45 mins before kickoff: It really feels like a huge night for Jack Grealish, who’s had a pretty dreadful time of things since the treble-winning version of City ransacked Madrid on this ground in May 2023. His only starts in 2025 have come against lower league opposition in the FA Cup but Guardiola spoke warmly of his performance after a match-winning assist for Kevin De Bruyne at Leyton Orient. Grealish’s capacity to hold possession and win free-kicks was a key component of the all-conquering City side. Those qualities can certainly come in handy against a Madrid team where several players are walking a disciplinary tightrope, but Guardiola spoke of Grealish being a player “from the streets” at the weekend and maybe wants to see some more of that old off-the-cuff magic. Savinho starting on the other wing suggests as much.
1 hr 15 mins before kickoff: Pep Guardiola finally has all his senior centre-backs fit… and he’s picked all of them. More or less. It looks like Manuel Akanji at right-back, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake together in the heart of defence, with John Stones starting in holding midfield. That means less room for players who aren’t centre-backs in the XI and the big news is that Jack Grealish starts on the left-wing. Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho complete the support attackers behind Erling Haaland, meaning Phil Foden and Omar Marmoush have to be content with a place on the bench alongside new signing Nico Gonzalez.
Your City team to face Real Madrid 🩵
XI | Ederson, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Stones, De Bruyne (C), Bernardo, Savinho, Grealish, Haaland
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Marmoush, Kovacic, Doku, Nico, Gundogan, Nunes, Khusanov, Foden, O’Reilly, Lewis, McAtee#ManCity | #UCL pic.twitter.com/HW42T8fGAF
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 11, 2025
1 hr 30 mins before kickoff: Camavinga starting feels like a big call from Ancelotti given his lack of football. A 10-minute appearance from the bench against Atletico came after his third enforced injury absence this season. He has only made 13 appearances and eight starts across La Liga and the Champions League in 2024/25. City know all about the perils of rushing injured players back to address a selection crisis, but they also know what a midfielder of Camavinga’s capabilities can do to their Rodri-less engine room.
1 hr 50 mins before kickoff: As is his wont, Carlo Ancelotti has gone early with his lineup announcement. Eduardo Camavinga is deemed fit enough to start in central midfield after making a brief cameo on his return to action from a hamstring injury at the weekend. The Frenchman being ready is certainly a boost as Federico Valverde will be redeployed to right-back in Lucas Vazquez’s injury absence. The much-vaunted front four of Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius and Mbappe are all present and correct.
📋✅ Our starting XI!
🆚 @ManCity pic.twitter.com/R9auDcEDLb— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) February 11, 2025
2 hours before kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Manchester City vs. Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. In each of the past three seasons, these two heavyweights have produced classic contests. This time around, the fact they’re even in the knockout playoff shows they’re not at their best. Can they drag that out of one another? It should be fun finding out.
It’s time to write a new chapter ✍️ pic.twitter.com/NAoWCCFGOi
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 11, 2025
Man City vs. Real Madrid kick off time
This UEFA Champions League playoff match kicks off in Manchester at 8 p.m. local time.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Tue, Feb 11 | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| Canada | Tue, Feb 11 | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| UK | Tue, Feb 11 | 8:00 p.m. GMT |
| Australia | Wed, Feb 12 | 7:00 a.m. AEDT |
| India | Wed, Feb 12 | 1:30 a.m. IST |
Man City vs. Real Madrid lineups, team news
There appears to finally be light at the end of the tunnel for Man City in terms of the injuries that have decimated their season, with long-term absentees Rodri and Oscar Bobb the only men missing from Tuesday’s open training session.
Nico Gonzalez had his debut in Saturday’s FA Cup win over Leyton Orient curtailed when he took a heavy blow to the hip, but the former Barcelona youngster has recovered to take a place on the bench. In his absence, John Stones will take on holding midfield duties.
Ruben Dias made his injury return at the weekend and Nathan Ake will do likewise alongside the Portugal international, with Manuel Akanji slotting over to right-back
Kevin De Bruyne, Savinho, and Jack Grealish all start as support attackers behind Erling Haaland, with the Englishman starting a first non-FA Cup game since the 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa before Christmas. Phil Foden and Omar Marmoush have to be content with spots on the bench.
Man City (4-1-4-1, right to left): Ederson (GK) — Akanji, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol — Stones — Savinho, De Bruyne, Silva, Grealish—Haaland.
Man City subs: Ortega (GK), Marmoush, Kovacic, Doku, Gonzalez, Gundogan, Nunes, Khusanov, Foden, O’Reilly, Lewis, McAtee.
Lucas Vazquez compounded Real Madrid’s defensive injury crisis when he suffered a hamstring injury in the weekend draw against Atletico Madrid. He joins Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba and long-term victims Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao on the sidelines.
Federico Valverde has been selected to provide a makeshift solution at right-back, which has a knock-on effect in midfield. Eduardo Camavinga made an ahead-of-schedule return from the bench against Atleti and is in from the start to partner Dani Ceballos. Jude Bellingham is the No. 10 and Luka Modric drops to the bench.
Bellingham, Modric, Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Endrick are all at risk of suspension for accumulation the next time they pick up a booking.
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1, right to left): Courtois (GK) — Valverde, Tchouameni, Asencio, Mendy — Ceballos, Camavinga — Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr —Mbappe.
Real Madrid subs: Lunin (GK), Modric, Arda Guler, Endrick, Vallejo, Garcia, Brahim, Gonzalo, Ramon, Chema, Aguado.
Man City vs. Real Madrid live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this UEFA Champions League match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | Univision, UniMas | Paramount+, ViX, TUDN.com, TUDN App, Fubo |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| UK | — | Amazon Prime Video |
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
| India | Sony TEN | Sony LIV, JioTV |