Manchester City F.C. return to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Wednesday with manager Pep Guardiola insisting his side arrive in far better shape than the injury-stricken group that fell to Real Madrid CF in the UEFA Champions League playoff round last season.

“We arrive better in terms of we have the squad,” Guardiola said. “Last season we arrived with a lot of fatigue and so few players available.”

City face Madrid away in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie, with the return leg scheduled for March 17 in Manchester. City were eliminated by Madrid by an aggregate score of 6–3 last season.

The English champions will be boosted by the return of Erling Haaland after the striker sat out their 3–1 fifth-round FA Cup win over Newcastle United F.C. at the weekend.

“We play 11 against 11 tomorrow,” Guardiola said. “When you have everybody fit and play in a lot of competitions and games, of course it is better to rotate — fresh legs and fresh minds.”

January signings Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guéhi are in line for their first Champions League appearances, and Guardiola believes there is no better introduction.

“As quick as they start to live these kinds of situations, the better it will be for the future of this club,” he said.

Guardiola acknowledged the scale of the challenge of playing Real Madrid in their raucous home stadium, but insisted it is nothing his side have not faced before.

“You have to face the opponent with incredible respect, but look in their eyes and say, ‘Okay, this is who we are as a team,’” he said. “And you have to do it. Maybe you are lucky and go through.

“If we are not able to handle this situation when we play at Anfield or Old Trafford or Emirates or Stamford Bridge or FC Bayern Munich or Paris Saint‑Germain F.C.… you have to live that. It is better to be here than not to be here.

“I prefer to be here and come to this stadium in the last 16 because that means we are in more or less the elite of Europe. This club was never there 12 or 13 years ago, so as much as you play these games, it is always learning and always an experience for the future.

“Of course we want to go through and are going to give everything to go through next Tuesday and continue.”

City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who lifted the Champions League trophy last season with Paris Saint-Germain, believes this year’s competition is wide open.

“There are some teams that can make it to the final — there are many strong and tough teams,” he said.

“If you speak about last season, before the round of 16 nobody thought that PSG could be a strong candidate to win the final, but things can change overnight. It depends on the timing and how fit the team is.”

Donnarumma warned that the margins at this stage of the tournament are razor-thin.

“We are about to play games where you are in or out,” he said. “You need to manage things properly, you have two games. In the Champions League details are everything and they can make the difference.”