Real Madrid vs. Man City: Major Erling Haaland injury update as Pep Guardiola confirms “no surprises” for Champions League clash

Manchester City have been handed a huge boost regarding the fitness of star striker Erling Haaland ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 first-leg showdown at the Bernabeu.

The Norwegian was left out of the Citizens squad for last weekend’s 3-1 victory at Newcastle United in the FA Cup fifth round, as manager Pep Guardiola opted to rotate his squad.

This was the second time in three games that Haaland had been absent after he also missed the previous weekend’s Premier League victory over Leeds United with a “little injury”.

However, Man City supporters have been boosted by the news that Haaland was pictured in first-team training on Tuesday afternoon before jetting off to the Spanish capital as part of Guardiola’s 23-man travelling squad.

?Erling Haaland back in training with Manchester City ahead of the trip to Madrid.

All signs point to him starting at the Bernabéu ?#UCL pic.twitter.com/md96TeKI7Z
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) March 10, 2026

The good news does not stop there for the Citizens, as midfielder Mateo Kovacic was also spotted in training after making positive progress in is recovery from classification in his ankle/heel.

The Croatian, who underwent two operations last year, has made only two appearances this season due to injury, last featuring in October, and although he will not be involved against Real Madrid, Guardiola is hopeful that he will return before the end of the campaign.

Kovacic is one of three Man City players unavailable for selection along with Josko Gvardiol (tibial fracture) and Rico Lewis (ankle), the latter of whom is not expected to remain sidelined for too long, though.

Guardiola has strong squad available for Real Madrid battle

Speaking at a press conference in Madrid on Tuesday evening, Guardiola talked up the important of having a refreshed squad, which now includes January signings Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi.

"We play 11 against 11 tomorrow. When you have everybody fit and we play a lot of games, of course it's better,” Guardiola told reporters. "The first leg for the two games, so we'll try and get a good result.

"Always in life there is a first time. The quicker [Semenyo and Guehi] start to get used to this situation, the better it will be for the club."

Real Madrid vs. Man City: Guardiola confirms “no surprises”

Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa stated in his media conference that Guardiola “always has a surprise”, adding: “You have to expect some surprises. You have to think of many ideas, tactical approaches, that he's going to use and how he's going to use the players.

"I'll be very surprised if tomorrow he doesn't change how the team plays and attacks. We have to be open to expecting anything when facing a coach like Pep Guardiola."

In response to those comments, Guardiola smiled, nodded and replied: "A lot of surprises”.

He then confirmed that is not the case and added: “No, honestly, no surprises. I think [Arbeloa and I] know each other, he knows us. Of course there are some adjustments we have to do for the quality they have, but no surprises.

“Real Madrid is always Real Madrid. You know what I think about Real Madrid - I truly respect them.”

Man City are bidding to beat Real Madrid for the second time this season after goals from Haaland and Nico O’Reilly inspired the Citizens to a 2-1 away victory in the League Phase three months ago.