Man City's Champions League hopes dealt HUGE blow with Erling Haaland only fit enough for the bench in must-win Real Madrid showdown

The striker was a doubt for the showdown at the Santiago Bernabeu having hurt himself by jarring his knee off the ball in Saturday's victory over Newcastle. Although he has made Pep Guardiola's matchday squad for the play-off second leg against Los Blancos, he has not been deemed fit enough to start in what is a must-win game, with the aggregate score at 3-2 in favour of the Spanish giants.

Haaland hobbled off the pitch against Newcastle on Saturday in the 87th minute, leading to doubts about whether he would be available at all against Real Madrid. His place on the bench means Guardiola can still call on the Norwegian — who has eight Champions League goals already this campaign — if required. But given City are still fighting for a top-four finish and Champions League qualification, it may be deemed an unnecessary risk to take on an unfit player.

Ahead of the fixture, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola told TNT Sport: "[He was] Not close enough. Trained a little bit yesterday but spoke this morning and said he doesn't feel good so we choose another one."

Haaland's loss is Omar Marmoush's gain, with the weekend hat-trick hero tasked with leading the line for City against Real in their crucial play-off tie. The Egyptian forward will need to be at his best if City are to progress; the Premier League champions are one goal down and Guardiola's comments suggest that Haaland won't be getting any game time.