West Ham fullback Pablo Zabaleta insists former club Manchester City can defeat Champions League round 16 opponents Real Madrid.

The former Argentina international is convinced that City have the quality to beat a Real team who are not considered the force that won four Champions League in five years, even though they are top of La Liga.

"City have a great squad of players and I think they can beat Real," he said. "They have to go and attack them. They have to play to win the game because they have quality, and I'm sure that is the way the team always plays - to win games.

"A lot of City fans will travel to Madrid to support the team, and everyone - players, staff, fans, will come together for the the game. The club has the right mentality that you need for these sort of games.

"Hopefully they can get a good result on Wednesday and complete the job in the second leg at the Etihad. For them it will be massive."