Real Madrid News: Marcelo and Thibaut Courtois ruled out of crucial Champions League encounter against Manchester City
Real Madrid have officially confirmed that both Marcelo and Thibaut Courtois are set to miss the crucial return leg in their Round of 16 tie with Manchester City. Los Blancos are set to travel to the Etihad in the hope of overturning a 2-1 deficit after being beaten thoroughly by the Cityzens on their own turf.
Kevin De Bruyne ran the show for Pep Guardiola's men at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu as he got on the scoresheet after setting up Gabriel Jesus for the equaliser to cancel Isco's opener. Things worsened minutes after the Belgian's goal as Sergio Ramos was shown a red card for his last-ditch attempt to stop Jesus from going clear on goal. The captain's absence will now be felt even more with the ruling out of both Courtois and Marcelo.
The Belgian keeper is set to miss their trip due to a left adductor injury while the Brazilian picked up a hamstring injury. The former's injury in particular will be a major concern considering the former Chelsea man's sublime form this season. They will join not just their captain to watch the game from the sidelines but also Eden Hazard, their star summer signing.
The talismanic Belgian has had a difficult season so far due to constant injuries and is set to miss another crucial game after having already missed the El Classico earlier this month.
Alphonse Areola and Ferland Mendy are expected to deputise for Courtois and Marcelo respectively as Zinedine Zidane aims to pull another rabbit out of the hat for Los Blancos and guide his team past Guardiola's blue army on the Catalans' own backyard.