On Wednesday, Real Madrid will face Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie. Alvaro Arbeloa’s side will be desperate to take a positive result to Etihad Stadium the following week, but with Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe at risk of missing both matches, it is no surprise that they are considered the underdogs.
Real Madrid had hoped that Bellingham would be able to return in time to face Man City, but it does not look like being the case. He has an outside chance of playing in Manchester, but it’s already confirmed that he will miss out on Wednesday, which leaves a midfield spot up for grabs.
Fede Valverde, Arda Guler and Aurelien Tchouameni will start, but the question is who lines up as Real Madrid’s fourth midfielder. Eduardo Camavinga is the favourite after returning from a recent tooth injury, but 18-year-old La Fabrica graduate Thiago Pitarch is also in with a shout.
Pitarch has impressed head coach Arbeloa, who gave him his first start in the victory over Celta Vigo. He’s already considered to be a permanent fixture in the first team, which means that a return to the lower categories is unlikely.
Pitarch at risk of being ineligible for UEFA Youth League
Given this, it may not make much of a difference if Pitarch were to be ruled out of contention for the rest of Real Madrid’s UEFA Youth League campaign. As per Marca, the teenage midfielder would be deemed ineligible for that competition if he plays in one more Champions League match with the first team, which he could do on Wednesday against Man City.
Rules state that players that feature in three Champions League matches or more cannot play in the UEFA Youth League in the same season. However, Pitarch – who played in both legs of Real Madrid’s play-off round victory over Benfica, will not be thinking much about that right now, as his focus will be on helping the first team have a strong end to the campaign.
