Predicted Teams Real Madrid-Manchester City: Academy midfielder set for start – Football España

Real Madrid take on Manchester City this evening at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night at 21:00 CEST, with significant injuries to deal with. Alvaro Arbeloa will face off against Pep Guardiola for the first time as a manager, in a fixture that has occurred for the past five seasons.

Arbeloa will have their previous meeting against City this season to study, where the English side ran out 2-1 winners. This time Real Madrid will be without Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Eder Militao, Alvaro Carreras, David Alaba and Dani Ceballos through injury. There are also doubts about the fitness of Eduardo Camavinga and Dean Huijsen, while Franco Mastantuono is suspended. Guardiola is planning the match without Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic, with a much wider selection of options.

📋✅ ¡Nuestros convocados!
🆚 @ManCityES pic.twitter.com/UpV59uAcL2

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) March 11, 2026

Arbeloa to hand Thiago Pitarch third straight start

The expectation from Diario AS is that young midfielder Thiago Pitarch will start for a third straight game. The only changes predicted from their 2-1 win over Celta Vigo are the potential returns of Huijsen and Gonzalo Garcia, who could come in for Raul Asencio or Brahim Diaz.

#RealMadrid head into their clash with #ManCity with major injury issues, which will keep Mbappe, Bellingham and Carreras off the pitch.

Diario AS predict that Castilla midfielder Thiago Pitarch will make a third straight start ahead of Eduardo Camavinga. pic.twitter.com/1G8iDsj3tJ

— Football España (@footballespana_) March 11, 2026

Sport believe that both those changes will occur, and predict a surprise start for Dani Carvajal, after a difficult performance from Trent Alexander-Arnold in Galicia. They also see Camavinga replacing Pitarch.

Manchester City to pursue victory with attacking line-up

Guardiola is expected to pursue victory at the Bernabeu, with only two natural defenders in his XI. Converted to full-back, Nico O’Reilly and Matheus Nunes will be trusted to stop Fede Valverde and Vinicius. Jeremy Doku is backed to start ahead of Antoine Semenyo on the left wing, with a potential surprise start for Omar Marmoush.

Recent history would suggest that Marmoush is more likely to be on the bench, but the key creative hub will be Rayan Cherki. Real Madrid will also get another look up close at summer transfer target Rodri Hernandez.