When the topic of miracles in the Champions League comes to the fore, the first team that would pop up in any fan's mind would be Real Madrid. 

This time, however, it is Manchester City who are in need of pulling off a miracle at the Santiago Bernabeu -- the home of the tournament's most successful team -- as Pep Guardiola's men face Real in the second leg today.

City blew a late 2-1 lead in the first leg of the playoff tie last week at home to lose 3-2 to the holders.

Real go into the second leg with a goal in hand, a clear advantage for the record 15-time champions who have made a habit of turning the tie around in the dying minutes – especially in the Champions League.

City boss Guardiola said his side have just a one percent chance of progress to the last 16 against Real but the English champions' new recruits could offer a lifeline.

City's collapse in the first leg was part of a wider trend this season as Guardiola's ageing squad have struggled to last the pace, particularly when the intensity is turned up on Champions League nights.

As a consequence, City broke with their usual transfer policy to spend big in January, bringing in Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez for fees totalling £170 million ($214 million).

However, none of them started the first leg against Madrid. Marmoush was the only one to even make an appearance for the final few minutes off the bench.

Guardiola may now regret that decision after Marmoush, Gonzalez and Khusanov all played pivotal roles in arguably City's best performance of the season on Saturday when Newcastle were blown away 4-0 at the Etihad.

Marmoush hogged the headlines thanks to his first-half hattrick, finally offering City another potent scoring threat to compliment Erling Haaland.

Khusanov recovered from his nightmare Premier League debut against Chelsea last month when he gave away a goal inside three minutes. This time the Uzbek showed why City paid Lens a reported 40 million euros (£33 million, $42 million) for his services.

The 20-year-old's pace helped sniff out the danger posed by Newcastle's Alexander Isak and could be what the visitors need to combat the threat of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, and Rodrygo.

Guardiola, though, reserved special praise for the impact of Gonzalez in bringing the City midfield the stability they have lacked since Ballon d'Or winner Rodri suffered a serious knee injury in September.

The Barcelona academy graduate seems certain to start on his return to Spain with his manager already hailing the 23-year-old as a "mini Rodri."

Yet, even at their best during the golden years of Guardiola's reign in Manchester, City have often found the might of Madrid too tough a nut to crack in the Champions League.

This is the fourth consecutive season the sides have met, with a 5-1 aggregate rout en route to winning the competition for the first time in 2023 City's only success. But Guardiola is still not ready to give up.

"If you ask anybody before that game, we have one percent chance [against Real] but as much as we have a chance we will try. That's for sure," Guardiola said.