Saturday’s briefing: Real reunion for Man City as Aston Villa eye Rashford swoop

Holders Real Madrid stand in the way of Manchester City’s hopes of a second taste of Champions League glory after the sides were drawn to face each other in the play-offs.

Also, Manchester United forward Alejandro Garnacho appears to have grabbed his second chance at Old Trafford, while out-of-favour team-mate Marcus Rashford has emerged as a target for Aston Villa, who have been boosted by the news that Ollie Watkins is set to remain at the club beyond transfer deadline day.

In a move already signed, sealed and delivered, Chelsea splashed the cash again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the Women’s Super League from Barcelona.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is steeling himself for a Champions League “derby” against Real Madrid after the sides were paired together yet again.

Guardiola’s 2023 winners will face the 15-times European champions in the knockout round play-off after scraping through the league phase thanks to Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Club Brugge.

It will be the fifth two-legged tie between City and Madrid in the last six seasons.

Guardiola, whose side could only have drawn Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, said: “Well, it looks like a derby already. Four years in a row facing Madrid. Well, Madrid, Bayern, both were really, really tough.”

Villa are exploring the possibility of handing Marcus Rashford a way out of his Manchester United misery before Monday’s transfer deadline.

The PA news agency understands Villa boss Unai Emery has identified the 27-year-old as an option, with Chelsea’s Joao Felix and Paris St Germain’s Marco Asensio also in his sights.

Rashford has been frozen out of Ruben Amorim’s squad with the United boss saying after Sunday’s win over Fulham he would rather select 63-year-old