Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City hope to make full use of home advantage on Tuesday as they host Real Madrid in the first leg of this UEFA Champions League playoff at the Etihad.
Today’s game marks the fourth successive season these two European giants have faced each other. While those previous encounters have been during the tournament’s latter stages, both sides’ surprisingly underwhelming campaigns this term mean one of these behemoths will be exiting the tournament before the start of the UCL’s last 16.
Despite City’s and Real’s poor starts, other clubs are aware that the team who came through the previous encounters between these two went on to win the competition in each of the last two seasons.
Manchester City take on Real Madrid on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the Etihad Stadium. Kickoff is set for a 8 p.m. GMT start in England, making it a 3 p.m. ET or 12 p.m. PT start in the US and Canada, and a 7 a.m. AEDT kickoff in Australia on Wednesday morning.
Below, we’ve outlined the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the match as it happens, wherever you are in the world.
Erling Haaland has failed to score in any of his four previous appearances against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Livestream Man City vs. Real Madrid in the US
American soccer fans can stream every fixture of this season’s tournament via Paramount Plus, which has exclusive live English-language broadcast rights in the US for the UEFA Champions League.
How to watch every UEFA Champions League 2024/25 game online from anywhere using a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view UCL matches locally, you may need a different way to watch the games — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Livestream Man City vs. Real Madrid in the UK
While TNT Sports broadcasts the majority of Champions League games in the UK, Amazon Prime Video has first pick for games on a Tuesday, with one per match week being shown exclusively live on the platform.
This match is the streaming service’s selection for the first week of the playoffs.
Livestream Man City vs. Real Madrid in Canada
If you want to stream UCL games live in Canada, you’ll need to subscribe to DAZN Canada. The service has exclusive broadcast rights to the Champions League this season.
Livestream Man City vs. Real Madrid in Australia
Football fans Down Under can watch UCL matches on streaming service Stan Sport, which has exclusive rights to show the Champions League live in Australia this season.
Quick tips for streaming UEFA Champions League matches using a VPN
- With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming Champions League games may vary.
- If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
- If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try to fix quickly. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- Remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.
