Manchester City

Nathan Ake seems to be moving freely. The Netherlands defender missed the weekend's win over Newcastle after managing just 61 minutes of the first leg against Real Madrid.

Reports on Saturday suggested Ake had been suffering with illness rather than an injury.

Manchester City

Josko Gvardiol is full of beans this morning. The Croatia defender seems to be the joker in the pack.

Ruben Dias and Jack Grealish, meanwhile, are deep in conversation as they go through a stretching routine.

Image source, Reuters

Manchester City

Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias are out there with the rest of the players, along with Jack Grealish. All three have been flagged as injury doubts for the Real Madrid clash.

Whether they make it on to the plane later today is anyone's guess...

Image source, Reuters

Manchester City

We have been teased with some skills from Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic as the players filter on to the training pitch at the Etihad campus for their last session before flying out to Madrid.

Stick with us for the next 15 minutes or so as we bring you news on which players are involved...

Emma, a Middlesbrough fan, gave this post a thumbs down.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Jude Bellingham says that that he had been expressing his frustration and not insulting the referee when he was shown a straight red in the 39th minute of Real Madrid's draw against Osasuna

Referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero sent off Bellingham for foul and abusive language.

Speaking about the incident, Bellingham said: "It's difficult when a referee isn't sure, to determine that I've said something that I haven't, and as a result it kind of hinders the team.

"I think you can see clearly in the video, and I remember the incident very well, it was an expression to myself.

"I'm not even directing myself towards the referee, but obviously there was a misunderstanding. He's believed that I've said [something insulting] to him.

"There was no intent to insult him, there was no insult, and for that reason I think you can see there was a misunderstanding."

Image source, Getty Images

Jude Bellingham was "disrespectful" after he was sent off for dissent during Real Madrid's 1-1 draw with Osasuna on Saturday, says Barcelona boss Hansi Flick.

The England midfielder was shown a straight red card in the 39th minute for something he was adjudged to have said to referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero.

The 21-year-old later said the incident was a "misunderstanding" and he did not insult the referee, an explanation supported by his manager Carlo Ancelotti.

Asked for his reaction to the incident, Flick said: "It is disrespectful but I'm not the one who should comment on it."

Bellingham is facing a suspension from La Liga matches for his comments, but is available to face Manchester City in the Champions League tomorrow night.

Click here to read the full story.

Rob in Brighton: Rayo Vallecano won’t get an apology, but they should have one after a ridiculous decision to disallow a goal for them against Barcelona yesterday. The penalty against them was debatable, but the disallowed goal was unbelievable

Now that's what I call a title race...

Image source, Getty Images

As well as their Champions League endeavours, Real Madrid are also involved in what is turning into a fascinating La Liga title race.

Madrid were knocked off the summit last night, as Barcelona saw out a nervy win against Rayo Vallecano to return to the top of La Liga for the first time since December.

Robert Lewandowski's first-half penalty was enough for Barca to leapfrog title rivals Real and Atletico Madrid, after both capital clubs dropped points in 1-1 draws on Saturday.

The Poland striker rolled his spot-kick in off the post - his 20th league goal of the season - after the hosts were awarded a contentious penalty following a video assistant referee (VAR) review.

Rayo midfielder Pathe Ciss was penalised for pulling down Inigo Martinez in the box, though the Barcelona centre-back was never close to getting to the ball ahead of goalkeeper Augusto Batalla.

Click here to read the full story.

Real Madrid

At around 11.45 GMT, we are expecting to hear from Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti. He will be addressing the media ahead of their Champions League play-off second leg against Manchester City in Spain tomorrow.

We'll bring you the best of what he has to say, including any updates on Jude Bellingham following his weekend red card, right here.

Speaking of City, Pep Guardiola is due to hold his own media conference at 18.15 GMT. Keep an eye on the BBC Sport website for reaction to that.

Manchester City

From 11.00 GMT, Manchester City will be training in front of the TV cameras at Etihad Campus before flying out to Madrid as they prepare to face Real in the Champions League tomorrow.

We will keep an eye out for Jack Grealish, Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias in particular, they are the injury doubts for the play-off second leg.

City face a tough ask at Santiago Bernabeu, having lost the first leg 3-2 at Etihad Stadium last week.

Chris Sutton
Former Celtic striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

Using Mikel Merino as a striker wouldn’t have been in Mikel Arteta’s thoughts when he signed him, even if it worked well [against Leicester]. It’s not an ideal situation for Arsenal to be in.

Arteta will be thinking he should have signed a striker. They tried to get Ollie Watkins at the end of the window. If they lose the league by a couple of points then fans will be thinking why didn’t they go for a striker at the start of January .

The more you think about it, the ‘Havertz or bust’ decision was crazy from Arteta. It is easy in hindsight to say it, but the fact they chose to [not bring in a striker for cover] is not a good situation to be in.

Image source, Getty Images

Stephen Warnock
Former Aston Villa defender on BBC Radio 5 Live

Where’s the value in the squad? Who is in that squad who you’d think ‘he would add value, I’d buy him’?

Why do Manchester United suddenly go ‘these players aren't good enough for your team but we’ll take them, they’ll boost us up the league’.

Chris Sutton
Former Celtic striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

United need to give Ruben Amorim the right types of players, they need to give him the right conditions to flourish and grow.

If you were growing tomatoes you wouldn’t put them in a cold environment would you? You’d pop them in a greenhouse with a bit of sunlight and moisture, space them out, and they will flourish. But at this moment Amorim’s tomatoes aren’t growing because he hasn’t got the right players in for the system.

Chris Sutton
Former Celtic striker on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club

Maybe Chelsea overachieved [earlier in the season] and I was one who got sucked into thinking 'well, they are there at the top of the league on merit, and are pushing and being consistent, why wouldn't this carry on?'.

Recently they have just dipped and it will be an interesting summer. Everything I read Enzo Maresca is being backed and there's no sense of panic. Maybe they are going through a period where some of the younger players are getting a bit sulky with things.

Chelsea need a striker. They don't have a recognised striker, I think that's an issue. Their recent form has dipped. The manager looks unhappy. The goalkeeping situation seems to be a problem.

Overall they have had an okay season but there's work to be done.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Sounds

Mark Chapman was joined by former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock and Premier League winner Chris Sutton in this week's Monday Night Club, which is available to listen to now in the latest edition of the Football Daily podcast on BBC Sounds.

The team discussed, among other things, Manchester United and Arsenal's transfer strategies, and Chelsea's recent downturn in form.

Here's what they had to say...