Major fitness boosts for Pep Guardiola as 25-man Manchester City squad spotted in training ahead of Real Madrid clash | OneFootball

Manchester City have finalised their preparations for a trip to Madrid this week as they look to overturn a 3-2 deficit against Los Blancos in the UEFA Champions League.

Erling Haaland’s brace in the first-leg against Real Madrid last week had seemingly set Manchester City on their way to a much-needed advantage ahead of the trip to the Santiago Bernabeu, only for late strikes from Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham to stun the Etihad.

City have found some confidence and strength in performance since then however, cementing their place in the Premier League’s top-four with a convincing 4-0 win over Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon.

Omar Marmoush was the star of the show as the Egyptian forward recorded his first, second, and third goals in a sensational hat-trick, while there were also hugely encouraging performances from Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico in the centre of midfield.

All three have certainly given Guardiola plenty to think about ahead of deciding his starting line-up for the trip to Real Madrid on Wednesday night, particularly at a time when the Catalan coach is having to decide who steps in at right-back in the absence of Manuel Akanji.

And as Manchester City finalised their training ground preparations for the meeting with Real Madrid in the last-16 play-off second-leg tie, here is the full list of players spotted on the City Football Academy pitches during the opening 15 minutes of the session.

25-man Manchester City squad in training

Goalkeepers: Ederson, Stefan Ortega Moreno, Scott Carson.

Defenders: Rico Lewis, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Stephen Mfuni, Josko Gvardiol, Nathan Ake.

Midfielders: Ilkay Gundogan, Nico Gonzalez, Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, Matheus Nunes, James McAtee, Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne.

Forwards: Justin Oboavwoduo, Savinho, Omar Marmoush, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku.

Among the notable names in training on Tuesday were a quarter of Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Jack Grealish, and Erling Haaland, all of whom were at the centre of respective issues during the weekend’s game against Newcastle.

The former trio were all absent from the matchday squad with Pep Guardiola crediting minor fitness problems during his media duties around the victory over Eddie Howe’s side, and a bout of illness concerning the Dutch defender.

Grealish was also replaced during the opening exchanges of last week’s defeat to Real Madrid, but appears to have overcome his suspected groin problem and put himself into contention for a starting place at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Manuel Akanji is absent after he underwent surgery on an abductor injury and is expected to be out for up to 10 weeks, while the Swiss defender joins Oscar Bobb and Rodri – both of whom are recovering from longer-term injury setbacks.