Football writer Sam Cunningham previews Wednesday's UEFA Champions League fixtures involving three Premier League clubs as they play their sixth matches in this season's competition.
Real Madrid v Manchester City
Wednesday 10 December 20:00 GMT
The mouthwatering match of the round. Two European giants face off, pitting two of the Champions League’s in-form forwards against one another.
Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe has already scored a phenomenal nine goals in five Champions League games. Erling Haaland is trailing but remains joint third, with five, alongside Harry Kane in the top-scorer charts, and will be aiming to catch up.
After a surprise defeat to Leverkusen and a draw with Monaco, Pep Guardiola’s side need points to avoid losing ground on the top eight. They sit just outside, in ninth with 10 points, although only two points separate them and second-placed Paris Saint-Germain.
There could barely be a better time to play Real Madrid.
Xabi Alonso, the Real Madrid manager, is under huge pressure after a faltering five weeks in which they have drawn three and lost two of seven games, including a shock defeat to Celta Vigo at the weekend. They had three players sent off in that match.
In addition, multiple reports state Real Madrid are ready to sack Alonso if they fail to get a positive result against City. An emergency meeting regarding his future was held on Monday, a development confirmed by El Mundo, Marca and The Athletic.
On Monday, Eder Militao was added to a mounting injury list which includes Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen.
City, meanwhile, are starting to rediscover some of their frightening form of old: three straight wins, scoring 11 goals, putting them second in the Premier League.
Rodri is still seeking a return from a persistent hamstring problem, but this match looks set to come too soon.
The two sides have faced each other 14 times, Madrid slightly edging the head-to-head, with five wins to City’s four. They overtook City after knocking them out of the knockout playoffs last season, winning both legs by an aggregate score of 6-3.
Bayer Leverkusen v Newcastle United
Wednesday 10 December 20:00 GMT
A very tough one to call. Only one point separates 11th-placed Newcastle United and 17th-placed Bayer Leverkusen.
But the German side will not fear Newcastle, whose struggles away from home extend to the Champions League, where they have only won two of their last 13 on the road, losing five and drawing six.
Newcastle will, nonetheless, feel hopeful. Leverkusen, fourth in the Bundesliga, were on a run of four straight wins when they stunned Man City with victory at the Etihad Stadium in their last Champions League game. Since then, however, they have lost two of their last three, including a defeat to Augsburg on Saturday.
Defender Jarell Quansah’s form since joining Leverkusen from Liverpool in the summer has been impressive and earned him an England debut against Albania in November.
It will be a big night for Eddie Howe, the Newcastle head coach, who can set indifferent Premier League form aside, that has left them mid-table, and put themselves in with a realistic shot of direct qualification to the Round of 16 with a victory.
Newcastle have won the only two meetings between the sides – beating Leverkusen 3-1 both home and away in the second group stage of the 2002/03 Champions League.
Club Brugge v Arsenal
Wednesday 10 December 20:00 GMT
The omens are good for Arsenal. The last time they won their first five group stage matches it was 2005, when they made it all the way to the Champions League final before losing to Barcelona.
Already automatically qualified for the next round, scoring at a rate of almost three goals a game and conceding only once, they will be expected to make it six wins in six against Club Brugge.
But can they score the four goals required to bring up 400 in European Cup history?
The Belgian side present the perfect antidote to recover after losing against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday and seeing their lead at the top of the table reduced to two points.
As well as sitting 26th and in the elimination places, Club Brugge have hit a patch of troubling form, losing four of their last six games. They fell to third in the Belgian top flight following defeat to St Truiden on Saturday.
That poor run ultimately led to the club announcing on Monday that they had parted ways with manager Nicky Hayen.
Hayen had been at Brugge since 2022 and has now been replaced by Ivan Leko.
The Croat returns to familiar surroundings after previously managing the club between 2017 and 2019, a spell during which he led Brugge to the league title, re-joining from Gent.
There remains the possibility that William Saliba makes a return to the Arsenal squad for the first time since playing in the Champions League win against Bayern Munich at the end of November. Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, has said recently that Saliba is “close” to playing. Belgian Leandro Trossard is a doubt for the match in his homeland.