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Madrid raced to a 3-0 victory over City thanks to Federico Valverde's first-half hat-trick at Santiago Bernabeu in midweek.

It could now be further boosted in the tie by Mbappe's return, with the Frenchman recovering from a left knee sprain, which has proved troublesome since December.

Mbappe is Madrid's top scorer in all competitions with 38 goals, some 25 clear of second-place Vinicius Junior (13), and Arbeloa is confident his side will have him back in the squad sooner rather than later.

"[Mbappe] is getting better every day," Arbeloa said ahead of the game with Elche.

"His development is progressing as it should. We made a plan. It depends on his progress, but I think he's doing very well. He won't be available [for Elche], but I expect he'll travel to Manchester.

"I want him to be able to travel to Manchester. Let's see tomorrow and on Sunday, when we'll make a final decision.

"Let's hope he's there, and that he's there against Atletico Madrid [on March 22]. As for France, we'll see [if he should rest for the international break] when the time comes."

Madrid returns to LaLiga action as it looks to close the gap at the top to Barcelona to just one point.

It had lost back-to-back games but won last time out in the league with a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo.

Elche, meanwhile, sits just one point above the relegation zone, having failed to win any of its past 10 outings in LaLiga, losing six of those.

But Arbeloa is not taking anything for granted, despite the visitors' recent struggles, insisting Madrid's focus is not straying from this match.

"We'll field the best possible XI to win," Arbeloa added. "I'm not thinking about anything else.

"The players have to end each match completely exhausted; it's their job. They have to be ready to fight like they did on Wednesday [Thursday AEDT]."