Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé are back in Real Madrid’s squad ahead of their Champions League last-16 second-leg clash against Manchester City on Tuesday night.
Mbappé, 27, has been sidelined since late February with a left knee strain, missing Real’s La Liga game against Osasuna on February 21. Bellingham, 22, also returns after suffering a hamstring injury just minutes into a league match against Rayo Vallecano on February 1, an injury more serious than initially expected that had cast doubt on his availability for England’s upcoming friendlies against Uruguay.
Real Madrid heads to Manchester with a comfortable 3-0 lead from the first leg at the Bernabéu, highlighted by a first-half hat-trick from Federico Valverde. City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Vinicius Jr. with a penalty save early in the second half, preventing an even larger deficit for Pep Guardiola’s side.
With both Bellingham and Mbappé fit again, Real Madrid will look to maintain their advantage and secure a spot in the quarter-finals as the Champions League heats up.
Other UCL clashes today include Sporting vs Bodo/Glimt, Arsenal vs Leverkusen, Chelsea vs PSG, and Manchester City vs Real Madrid, with Barcelona taking on Newcastle and Bayern Munich facing Atalanta later in the week.
