The Champions League kicks off this afternoon with four of the eight groups in action. Arguably the marquee match of the day takes place in Group D as Real Madrid clashes with Manchester City at 2:45 p.m. ET.
Real Madrid has been crowned champions of Europe a record nine times, but have not accomplished a championship since 2002.
Things have not looked good so far for Real, suffering their second defeat to Sevilla on Saturday to fall eight points behind rivals Barcelona.
With the current problems their facing, Real boss Jose Mourinho made supportive comments about his team leading up to the match after publicly criticizing their play, following Saturday's loss.
"I will try to field the team that I think will show up. I'm convinced that [Tuesday] I'll have a team out there," Mourinho said. "Maybe we won't be as relaxed, or filled with the same conviction and confidence we usually have against an opponent like City, coming off a game which was terrible. I'm sure we'll be at our best. I could be wrong, but that's what I think."
Meanwhile City will be led by boss Roberto Mancini.
After his disappointments in Europe with Inter, the 47-year-old saw his Manchester City side eliminated at the first hurdle in their first appearance in Europe's premier competition last season. With German champions Borussia Dortmund and Dutch champions Ajax making up the rest of Group D, Mancini knows that every match will be crucial to avoiding the same fate this time around.
Expected Starting Lineups:
Real Madrid: Iker Casillas, Alvaro Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo, Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil, Luka Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema
Manchester City: Joe Hart, Maicon, Vincent Kompany, Joleon Lescott, Gael Clichy, Yaya Toure, Gareth Barry, David Silva, Samir Nasri, Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero
Watch Real Madrid vs. Manchester City Live Stream, click here.
AC Milian vs. Anderlecht
AC Milan will host Anderlecht at the San Siro today at 2:45 p.m. ET as well.
AC Milan have lost two of their three opening games in Group A as their attack looks uncharacteristic. Without Riccardo Montolivo in the lineup against Atalanta, they were lacking in creativity and feel at home to Stefano Colatuono's side.
Montolivo is expected to return in this match, along with defender Philippe Mexes, so fans should expect a stronger Milan team than the one that lost on Saturday.
Anderlecht have not been expetional neither as they currently have more draws than they do wins.
They are expected to make at least one change from this weekend's team, as center forward Milan Jovanovic is suspended.
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