Manchester City vs. Real Madrid predictions: An insurmountable task for the hosts?
Ryan Murray
Manchester City won 2-0 at the Etihad on three occasions during the opening phase of the competition, with Bayer Leverkusen beating Pep Guardiola’s men by the same scoreline in their only other home European fixture.
Only 12 of Real Madrid’s 27 Champions League goals have come in away fixtures, with nine of these strikes being registered in high-scoring triumphs over Kairat and Olympiacos.
Recommended bet: Under 2.5 goals
Team News
Although Alvaro Arbeloa wrestles with an extensive injury list, Pep Guardiola has only a handful of absentees.
Rico Lewis is out with an ankle issue, while Josko Gvardiol is recovering from the fractured tibia he sustained during January’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea. Having seen just 37 minutes of competitive action all season, Mateo Kovacic returned to City’s matchday squad at the weekend. The Croatian midfielder featured as an unused substitute at West Ham’s London Stadium, but could be introduced from the bench against Real Madrid.
Arbeloa has limited options in multiple areas of the pitch, but is particularly vulnerable at the back. David Alaba and Alvaro Carreras are both nursing hamstring strains, while French full-back Ferland Mendy incurred the same injury during last week’s first leg. Tuesday’s clash will likely come too soon for Eder Militao, who hasn’t been available since the beginning of December. Spanish centre-back Raul Asencio is also set to miss out.
It looks as if Rodrygo’s World Cup dream is over after the Brazilian frontman ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament a fortnight ago, but Dani Ceballos is poised to make his long-awaited return at some stage next month.
However, Real Madrid have received a major boost thanks to the news that Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham are fit enough to play some sort of role at the Etihad.
The latest Manchester City vs. Real Madrid odds are available on LiveScore Bet
The stats
Although the Citizens have recorded only three clean sheets in the competition, both of those shutouts were delivered at the Etihad.
Four of City’s nine Champions League fixtures this term have produced fewer than three goals.
Federico Valverde’s stunning first-half hat-trick has given Madrid a three-goal advantage heading into this week’s return leg, but City can only improve on last week’s lacklustre performance.
Real Madrid are the Champions League’s fourth-top scorers, but almost half of their goals have been scored by Kylian Mbappe. The talented Frenchman is battling a persistent knee problem.
The latest Manchester City vs. Real Madrid odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Prediction
Although the visitors are red-hot favourites to advance to the quarter-finals, Manchester City are more than capable of recording a victory on Tuesday night.
City have already defeated their Spanish opponents this season, winning 2-1 at the Bernabeu in early December. The Premier League outfit secured the final automatic qualifying spot for the last sixteen at the expense of Real Madrid, after racking up an impressive 16 points by the conclusion of the league phase.
Nevertheless, the omens appear completely in the visitors’ favour. Los Blancos have led by three goals or more at the halfway stage of a colossal 36 European ties, and are yet to be subsequently eliminated in the tie. Furthermore, Real Madrid have thwarted Manchester City’s progress in the knockout stage of the Champions League in three of the previous four seasons.
Pep Guardiola and his charges will give this one a really good go, but overturning a three-goal deficit to the 15-time Champions League winners is likely to be too tall an order and this could end up being a low-scoring encounter.
Back under 2.5 Goals at 31/20 with LiveScore Bet
The latest Manchester City vs. Real Madrid odds are available on LiveScore Bet
