Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says Manchester City must not be underestimated in their Champions League playoff.
Who: Real Madrid vs Manchester City
What: UEFA Champions League
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
When: Wednesday, February 19 at 9pm local time (20:00 GMT)
Follow Al Jazeera Sports’s live text and photo commentary stream of the match.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola was deliberately underestimating the English side’s hopes of reaching the Champions League last 16.
European champions Madrid hold a 3-2 lead on City, who have struggled this season and are fourth in the Premier League, ahead of the playoff round second leg on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu.
After thrashing Newcastle 4-0 on Saturday, Guardiola said English champions City have only a 1-percent chance of knocking out the record 15-time European Cup winners.
“He does not truly think that, I’ll ask him before the game — do you really think you’ve got a 1-percent chance?” Ancelotti told a news conference on Tuesday.
“He really thinks they’ve got more chance than that … we don’t think we have 99-percent chance.
“We think we have a small advantage that we have to take advantage of, and try to play the same game we set up in the first leg, which went well.”
Guardiola won three LaLiga titles and two Champions League crowns in his time with Real’s arch-rivals in Spain, Barcelona.
What is the latest on Real Madrid vs Spanish referees?
Ancelotti also reiterated his frustration with Spanish refereeing, following some controversial decisions which went against his side in recent LaLiga matches.
Ancelotti said he was more comfortable with refereeing in the Champions League.
“Statistics speak for themselves, in Europe, there’s less controversy in this sense, there are less VAR interventions,” said Ancelotti.
“The VAR only intervenes when it’s necessary, and usually, the Champions League features the best referees from each country, so the quality is very high in this sense.”
Is Bellingham available after red card against Osasuna?
England international Jude Bellingham was sent off for dissent during Madrid’s 1-1 draw at Osasuna on Saturday in LaLiga, but the resulting suspension is not applicable in the Champions League.
Bellingham’s teammate Federico Valverde said he did not want the midfielder to change his ways.
“What I want is players who leave their soul out on the pitch, in this case with Jude in the last game, I always want him to be like that,” Valverde told reporters.
“Jude is a player who shows character, who always wants to win, who always wants to fight.
“This time he got a red card, but I like that he’s giving everything, his spikiness … we have to stay united as a team.”
Real Madrid team news
Ancelotti confirmed in his news conference ahead of the game that defender Antonio Rudiger was fit to start for the holders after injury, but Lucas Vazquez would only be ready for the bench.
Manchester City team news
Erling Haaland is set to face Real despite taking a heavy blow in the victory against Newcastle.
The striker was grounded for some time in pain after taking a knock during the game, but Guardiola says he expected the striker to be fit.
Head-to-head
The teams have faced each other 16 times, with Real emerging as winners on six occasions.
City have not been there to make up the numbers, however, as they have claimed victory in five of the encounters.
Although City haven’t beaten Real in their last three games, Guardiola’s side did emerge victorious on away goals when the sides were pitted together in this competition in City’s Champions League winning campaign two seasons ago.
The Cityzens have won only one of their six trips to Madrid, which came courtesy of a 2-1 win in 2020.