Real Madrid vs Man City – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

This is the fifth straight season that the clubs have met in the knockout stages of this competition. Los Blancos are heavily hit by injuries and City won away at Real Madrid in December.

Real Madrid Form

Los Blancos are struggling to string together a run of wins. They’ve fallen four points behind Barcelona in the title race after losing two of their last three La Liga matches. After a shock 4-2 defeat at Benfica, they won three straight league matches. A 1-0 win followed in Lisbon vs Benfica in the Champions League playoff round.

That was followed by a 2-1 loss at Osasuna in a poor result. They beat Benfica 2-1 at home in the second leg to reach the round of 16. A damaging 1-0 home loss to Getafe followed as Los Blancos missed five big chances. Last Friday, they needed a 94th-minute goal to win 2-1 at Celta Vigo.

Real Madrid Team News

David Alaba and Eder Militao are injured in defence. Rodrygo is out with a long-term knee injury and the match comes too soon for Kylian Mbappe in attack.

Jude Bellingham and Dani Ceballos are also set to be absent. It will be a depleted Madrid side with Gonzalo Garcia set to lead the line.      

Real Madrid Motivation

Los Blancos will be highly motivated for this match. However, their confidence is low and the injuries mean they are missing some match winners.

Alvaro Arbeloa will want to keep the tie alive in this first leg. A narrow win or even a draw would be good results ahead of the second leg.

Man City Form

City have won seven of their last eight matches. They sit seven points off Arsenal in the title race with a game in hand. City lost two of their League Phase matches and only narrowly made the top eight. After a 3-0 home win over Fulham, they beat Salford 2-0 in the FA Cup. A 2-1 home win followed over Newcastle in the league.

A 1-0 at Leeds preceded a shock 2-2 home draw vs Nottingham Forest in midweek despite outshooting Forest 21-9. They bounced back to win 3-1 at Newcastle in the FA Cup. Man City put up 3.41 xG and 21 shots in a convincing victory.

Man City Team News

Pep Guardiola is without Josko Gvardiol in defence and Mateo Kovacic in midfield. Nico O’Reilly is set to play in midfield and is set to start.

City rested most of their key players in the last match. Erling Haaland is set to return up front. Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi are both eligible to play having been added to the UCL squad.

Man City Motivation

City still have a shot of winning the quadruple. The league title looks unlikely at this stage, so more focus could go on the Champions League.

City will go to Spain and try to win. A draw would be a decent result, as they’ll have every confidence of beating Los Blancos at the Etihad Stadium next week.

Key Stats

• Real Madrid have won 9 of their last 12 matches
• Madrid have lost just 2 of their last 8 matches vs Man City
• Man City have won 7 of their last 8 matches in all competitions
• Man City’s Semenyo has scored 11 goals in his last 19 appearances

Verdict

City are big favourites for this tie. They face a depleted Madrid side who look suspect defensively. It may be worth backing City to win this first leg.

Best Bet: Man City win at 1.98

Alternate Bet: Man City win and both teams to score at 3.45

Goalscorer Tip: Semenyo to score anytime at 2.35