Real Madrid vs. Man City confirmed lineups: Bold Thiago Pitarch Pinar, Matheus Nunes, Erling Haaland decisions made for Champions League tie

Real Madrid head coach Alvaro Arbeloa has named his starting lineup for tonight’s Champions League last-16 first-leg showdown with Manchester City at the Bernabeu.

Just one change has been made to the Los Blancos side that beat Celta Vigo 2-1 in La Liga last Friday, with former Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen recalled at the expense of Raul Asencio to start in the back four alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy.

In the absence of injured midfielder Jude Bellingham, 18-year-old academy graduate Thiago Piatch Pinar retains his starting spot in the middle of the pitch and will make just his fifth senior appearance in this blockbuster fixture alongside captain Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni.

Ex-Man City youngster Brahim Diaz is set to continue in the centre of a three-man frontline in the absence of injured top scorer Kylian Mbappe, with Vinicius Junior and Arda Guler providing support from out wide.

Meanwhile, Eduardo Camavinga and Franco Mastantuono will both begin as substitutes and have returned to the matchday squad after missing the previous match against Celta Vigo; the former had a dental issue and the latter served a domestic suspension.

Haaland returns to Manchester City’s XI, with Khusanov preferred over Nunes

As for Man City, manager Pep Guardiola has made a total of seven changes to the side that beat Newcastle United 3-1 in the FA Cup fifth round last weekend.

The big name returning for the Citizens is striker Erling Haaland, who was rested last time out, and he will be joined in attack by January signing Antoine Semenyo who is making his Champions League debut.

Marc Guehi is also making his first appearance in Europe’s premier club competition and has been recalled along with Ruben Dias to start at centre-back, while goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has replaced James Trafford between the sticks.

Guardiola has surprisingly taken out Matheus Nunes, who has gone from strength to strength as a right-back this season, and has opted to hand Abdukodir Khusanov a start on the right side of the back four, with the Uzbekistan international set to go head-to-head with Vinicius Junior.

Nico O’Reilly retains his place in the first XI but will begin at left-back rather than in midfield, with Rayan Ait-Nouri dropping down to the substitutes’ bench.

Spain international Rodri and captain Bernardo Silva will instead link arms in the middle of the pitch after being rested at the weekend, while Savinho and Jeremy Doku will continue on the flanks after impressing against Newcastle.

Meanwhile, Omar Marmoush, who scored a brace against Newcastle, Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki are among the substitutes this evening.

Real Madrid starting lineup: Courteous; Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Thiago Pitarch; Guler, Brahim, Vinicius Jr

Subs: Lunin, Gonzalez, Carvajal, Camavinga, Gonzalo, Asencio, Garcia, Mastantuono, Aguado, Cestero, Angel, Palacios

Manchester City starting lineup: Donnarumma; Khusanov, Dias, Guehi, O’Reilly; Rodri, Bernardo; Savinho, Doku; Semenyo, Haaland

Subs: Trafford, Bettinelli, Reijnders, Stones, Ake, Marmoush, Cherki, Gonzalez, Ait-Nouri, Nunes, Foden, Alleyne