Manchester City will be feeling a lot better about taking on Real Madrid in the Champions League after hearing about the Spanish club’s injury concerns.
Manchester City’s focus right now is on their FA Cup tie against Newcastle this weekend, but once that is out of the way, all eyes will be on Madrid.
Although Man City managed to finish inside the top eight during the league phase of the competition, they were handed a tricky last 16 draw.
Real Madrid have quite the history in Europe and saw off Benfica in the play-off round. Now, the La Liga giants will be seeking to make City their next victim.
However, some injury concerns have arisen ahead of the tie next Tuesday and the news will go down very well with the visiting team.
Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe are unavailable to face Manchester City
According to The Athletic, Real Madrid will be without two key players when Manchester City arrive at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Kylian Mbappe is set to miss the game as he is still suffering from a knee injury. Despite this, it is still possible the striker will be back in time for the second leg.
Jude Bellingham is also unavailable for selection and while Madrid are working to have him for the second leg, the Madrid derby on March 22 is said to be a more realistic return date.
Man City could take advantage of Real Madrid’s injury problems
Mbappe and Bellingham are both important players to Los Blancos, so the fact neither will be able to play the first leg is excellent news for Pep Guardiola and his team.
Some of City’s performances in the Champions League up to this point have been a bit concerning, but Real Madrid’s record is far from perfect.
Add to that the fact that their deadly duo are unable to feature and Man City are definitely in a good position to sneak a result in Spain.
