Manchester City face Real Madrid for the fourth year in a row and each of the last three years have been classics between the two sides that have been head and shoulders above the rest in Europe.

Real claimed dramatic victories at the death in 2022 and 2024 while the Blues were emphatic winners in between, and each time the club that emerged from the tie went on to win the Champions League. Despite their lowly finishes in the revamped format that means one of them will not even make the last-16, all eyes will be on the Etihad on Tuesday for the first instalment of what has become a modern blockbuster.

The tie may well hang on one City player who has featured in each of the last three years and never left his team in a losing position, but hasn't been involved as much as Pep Guardiola would like. It does not feel like a coincidence that John Stones has been absent in all of City's defeats to the Spanish giants.

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Stones was a risk in 2022, brought back from injury to play at right-back in the first leg of their semi-final because Kyle Walker was injured. He was part of a team that scored two early goals at the Etihad, and were 2-1 up when the England man was forced off in the first half. Vinicius spun his replacement Fernandinho in a 4-3 win for City that left them feeling nervous, and then with Stones out of the second leg they did so well until the 90th minute and then collapsed.

The following year, Stones played both legs as City matched Real at the Bernabeu before playing them off the park with that famous 4-0 win. Shortly after, the former Barnsley defender would put in the performance of his career as City won their first Champions League in Istanbul with victory over Inter.

Last season, Stones again returned from injury for the quarter-final and Rodri praised the defender's persistence to play through the pain in Madrid and help his team to a 3-3 draw. That would cost him and the team though, as he was only fit enough to come on in the 112th minute of the second leg as City lost on penalties.

It is the sign of a good player that makes the team more likely to win when they play, and Stones generally does just that. He was admittedly in the thick of the 5-1 horror show at Arsenal, yet his introduction at Leyton Orient set the tone.

When he looks so good, it only adds to the frustration that he cannot stay fit for longer periods. It remains a baffling statistic that the defender has more starts for England since the beginning of June than he does for City.

His timing may be just right for Real this time though, with no pain reported from his last three appearances. Guardiola knows how good he is, he just can't get too carried away.

"Two years ago, John in the year of the Treble was pffft - he helped us to create in different ways," he said after the Leyton Orient game. "But he has played one 90 minutes in the last three months.

"We are incredibly happy that the last two games and today passed without pain in his plantar fascitis so that's really good that he's coming back. His presence is important. Ruben again is back and we will see how many players we can recover for the next games."

Games are usually won by superstar forwards, and Erling Haaland and Vinicius Jr will again look to be the centre of attention. With City in the form that they are in, no player may be enough to help turn the tide their way.

But they will feel much better about their chances with the man who hasn't lost a game to Madrid in their side - providing he makes it through without injury.