Watch Real Madrid v Manchester City: Live stream, TV channels, confirmed line-ups for Champions League play-off

Manchester City's Swiss defender #25 Manuel Akanji (C) heads the ball during the UEFA Champions League football match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on February 11, 2025.
Real Madrid defend a corner in the first leg last week (Image credit: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Watch Real Madrid v Manchester City on Wednesday 19 February for a mouthwatering clash in the second leg of their Champions League play-off. Here, FourFourTwo brings you all the information on how to watch Madrid vs City online and on TV, wherever you are in the world.

As the past two winners of the Champions League, Real Madrid and Manchester City wouldn't have expected to be in this position at all, but lowly placings in the opening group phase put them both into the play-offs, and only one side can emerge to the knockout phase.

The first leg last week was an instant classic, Madrid winning 3-2 away at the Etihad Stadium, despite City having led 2-1 with five minutes to go. The stage is set for another blockbuster game at the Bernabeu in Madrid on Wednesday night.

You won't want to miss this one, and you don't have to – with plenty of viewing options globally, here are all the details on how to watch a Real Madrid v Man City live stream from anywhere in the world.

Key information

• Real Madrid v Manchester City Date: Wednesday, February 19, 2025

• Real Madrid v Manchester City Kick-off time: 8.00pm GMT / 3.00pm ET

• Real Madrid v Manchester City Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid

• Real Madrid v Manchester City FREE stream: RTÉ (Ireland)

• Real Madrid v Manchester City TV & Streaming: TNT Sports, Discovery+ (UK) | Paramount+ (US)

• Watch from anywhere: Try NordVPN risk-free

Watch Real Madrid v Man City: FREE live stream in Ireland

You can watch Real Madrid v Man City for free if you're in Ireland, with public broadcaster RTÉ showing Wednesday's Champions League clash on TV and online.

RTÉ has the rights to show one Champions League match per week, and City's visit to Madrid makes the cut this week. Coverage starts at 7.30pm GMT.

You can watch the game on free-to-air television on RTÉ 2, which is available on all digital TV's in Ireland. To watch Real Madrid v Man City online, you can use the RTÉ Player streaming platform, or you can simply watch RTÉ 2 via a web-based browser player without registration or sign-in.

Away from Ireland right now? You can still watch RTÉ while abroad by using a VPN – more on that below.

Watch Real Madrid v Manchester City from anywhere

What if you're away from home for Real Madrid v Manchester City and your usual streaming service is geo-restricted? Well, there is a neat solution. A VPN - or Virtual Private Network - is a piece of software that sets your IP address to make your device appear to be in any country in the world.

You can use a VPN to unblock your usual streams from anywhere, and it's also great for your internet security, so it's a win-win.

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Watch Real Madrid v Man City: Live stream in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch Man City against Real Madrid on February 19 through TNT Sports and Discovery+.

For television viewers, the game is on TNT Sports 1, with coverage starting at 7pm GMT, meaning one hour of build-up before the 8pm GMT kick-off.

To watch Man City against Real Madrid online, the TNT Sports coverage will be simulcast on the Discovery+ streaming platform. Subscriptions cost £30.99 but you do get almost every single Champions League game live.

Watch Real Madrid v Manchester City elsewhere in the world

Watch Real Madrid v Manchester City in the US

Fans in the US can watch a Real Madrid v Manchester City live stream on Paramount+, which is the home of the Champions League in the US.

This is the CBS Golazo coverage with Kate Scott, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, and Micah Richards.

You can get Paramount+ for just $7.99 a month on the Essential package, or $12.99 for Showtime, which strips out the adverts and adds a heap of movies. All Champions League and Europa League games are included on both plans.

Kick-off is at 3.00pm ET / 12.00pm PT on February 19.

Can I watch Real Madrid v Manchester City in Australia?

Fans in Australia can watch Real Madrid v Manchester City on Stan Sport, which is the main Champions League rights-holder down under.

First of all you'll need a base subscription to the Stan streaming platform, where prices start from $12 a month, and from there you'll need to add the Stan Sport package, currently priced at $15 a month.

It's an early start for fans in Australia – kick-off is at 7am AEDT on Thursday February 20.

Can I watch Real Madrid v Manchester City in New Zealand?

You can indeed watch Real Madrid v Manchester City in New Zealand, with DAZN New Zealand showing the crucial Champions League game.

Subscriptions to DAZN start at $14.99 a month on a 12-month rolling contract, or $29.99 for a flexible monthly plan.

Kick-off for this game scheduled at 9am NZDT on Thursday February 20.

Can I watch Real Madrid v Manchester City in Canada?

Similarly to New Zealand, there will be a Real Madrid v Manchester City live stream on DAZN on Wednesday. Subscriptions cost $34.99 on a monthly basis.

How to watch Champions League live streams from anywhere in the world in 2024/25

Real Madrid v Manchester City: Commentators and pundits

RTÉ line-up for Madrid v City

• Presenter: Joanne Cantwell

• Commentators: Darragh Maloney, Ray Houghton

• Pundits: Dietmar Hamann, Richie Sadler

TNT Sports line-up for Madrid v City

• Presenter: Reshmin Chowdhury

• Commentators: Darren Fletcher

• Pundits: Steve McManaman, Rio Ferdinand, Joleon Lescott

Paramount+ line-up for Madrid v City

• Presenter: Kate Scott

• Commentators: Clive Tyldesley

• Pundits: Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards, Thierry Henry

Real Madrid v Manchester City: What happened in the first leg?

The first leg of the Champions League play-off last week was full of drama, with Real Madrid beating Manchester City 3-2 to take a one-goal aggregate lead back to Madrid.

City have had a horrible season but they looked on course for what might have been a major turning point as they led not once but twice, with Erling Haaland’s second strike, from the penalty spot, putting them in a winning position with 10 minutes to go.

But City imploded once more, as they have so uncharacteristically done on numbers occasions this season. Madrid equalised with four minutes to go, and snatched the lead two minutes into stoppage time. It was a smash and grab, the tables turned in the blink of an eye.

Haaland had opened the scoring on 19 minutes, finishing coolly from close range after a chipped through ball from Jack Grealish. It was a chipped through ball that led to Madrid’s equaliser in the same goal on the hour mark, with more than a touch of good fortune as Kylian Mbappé’s swiped mis-kicked volley deceived the goalkeeper and spun into the net.

City looked on course for victory when Phil Foden was fouled just inside the box and Haaland confidently slotted home from the penalty spot on 80 minutes. But the lead lasted just six minutes, as former City player Brahim Díaz was first to a rebound to put away a simple finish.

City had lost their lead, and they lost the game right at the death. Vinicius Junior robbed the ball from the grasp of a flailing Rico Lewis, raced towards the goal, and chipped the bouncing ball over the goalkeeper. It was drifting wide, but Jude Bellingham, who’d surged from midfield to follow the move, was on hand to slide in and tuck the ball in at the back post.

Real Madrid v Manchester City: Team news

Erling Haaland on the bench for Man City

The big news pre-kick-off is that Man City's star striker Erling Haaland will not start the game. The Norwegian was substituted in Saturday's game against Newcastle, and doubts surrounding his fitness have proven true, as their chief goalscorer is named on the bench for tonight's game. It's a huge blow for City, who name Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Savinho, and Omar Marmoush in the attacking positions.

As for Real Madrid, Antonio Rudiger slots straight back into the centre of defence after missing the first leg. Otherwise, Carlo Ancelotti names an unchanged side from the one that lined up at the Etihad last week.

Real Madrid

Starting XI: Thibaut Courtois, Federico Valverde, Antonio Rudiger, Marco Asencio, Ferland Mendy, Aurelien Tchouameni, Dani Ceballos, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr.

Substitutes: Lunin, Mestre, Alaba, Camavinga, Modric, Guller, Endrick, Vasquez, Vallejo, Fran Garcia, Brahim.

Manchester City

Starting XI: Ederson, Abdukodir Khusanov, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Nico Gonzalez, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Savinho, Omar Marmoush.

Substitutes: Nathan Ake, Mateo Kovacic, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne, Stefan Ortega Moreno, Matheus Nunes, Scott Carson, Rico Lewis, James McAtee.

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Patrick Fletcher

Patrick manages the How To Watch content across FourFourTwo and the other sports publications at Future. He's an NCTJ qualified journalist with a decade of experience in digital sports media. A lifelong Evertonian, he now plies his own footballing trade on the bobbly pitches of the famous Bristol Downs League.