Man City v Real Madrid Match Result
Manchester City and Real Madrid might have expected to meet each other at the quarter final, semi final or final stage of the Champions League. However, the two giants clash at the last 32 phase of the competition thanks to some underwhelming performances from the champions of England and Spain.
City were only able to land three wins from their eight games played in the group stage and they are nowhere near Liverpool’s pace at the top of the Premier League. It’s very much a transitional season for Pep Guardiola’s men who were recently thrashed 5-1 by Arsenal to expose their shortcomings right now.
The Champions League betting sites still make City favourites to secure a first leg victory, although their odds suggest that they could be vulnerable against Real Madrid. At the time of writing, they have only accrued 41 points from their 24 games played in the Premier League and it’s hard to be too confident that they can overcome the champions of Spain.
Los Merengues were the winners of last season’s Champions League and they often have the magic touch when it comes to this competition. The visitors also have the most fearsome attack in Europe, with Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe capable of putting any defence to the sword and that includes a City rearguard that is wobbling.
When it comes to the To Qualify betting market, Real Madrid are regarded as the team who are most likely to progress. They have the advantage of playing the second leg on home soil although we don’t expect them to be too cagey when it comes to seizing some kind of advantage from the first game.
Goals Under/Over
There could be fireworks when these two attack-minded teams clash in the Champions League last thirty-two first leg encounter, with the football betting sites making it a 66% probability that there will be Over 2.5 Goals scored. It’s easy to see why, with thirty-two goals being registered during the eight Manchester City games played in the group stage.
An average of four suggests that Over 3.5 Goals could be notched, while there were also exactly thirty-two goals notched in the eight Real Madrid clashes. There’s little point in either side sitting back and hoping to get a positive result from the first leg, especially City who will want to establish some kind of advantage.
Both of these teams have the firepower to cover the 2.5 Goals line on their own and it could be a banker to include this selection as part of an accumulator. Over 3.5 Goals might be worth chancing at odds-against based on the stats.
BTTS
If the Over 2.5 Goals line is trading at a short price, the BTTS Yes outcome is available at even skinnier odds. In the previous four Manchester City matches at the time of writing, BTTS Yes has happened, while Pep Guardiola’s side have found the net in their previous twelve encounters and a 4-2 defeat away to Paris Saint-Germain highlights the sort of match that this might end up being.
In the past four City home games, eighteen goals have been scored by the champions of England, with Real Madrid needing no introduction when it comes to scoring goals. A recent 1-0 defeat away to Espanyol was something out an outlier considering that this came after successive 3-0 wins on the road against Valladolid and Brest.
However, all of the above three games were BTTS No and came after four consecutive games where BTTS Yes happened. Given that this is a first leg encounter where away goals are no longer valid, we might see both teams take the handbrake off and that could see the BTTS Yes outcome happen in the opening exchanges of the match.
First Goalscorer
Kylian Mbappe joined Real Madrid last season with an ambition to land trophies and that includes the Champions League. The Frenchman would dearly love to land multiple European Cups and he has twenty-two goals at the time of writing this season, with this spanning all competitions and including the hat-trick recently scored away to Valladolid.
He is likely to be a warm order to score the opening goal in this game, with Vinicius Junior also the man for the big occasion and the Brazilian has seventeen on the board this term. He was able to plunder a recent brace against Red Bull Salzburg, with the same player pilfering a Champions League hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund back in October.
Erling Haaland might not be having his best season in a Manchester City shirt, although the Norwegian has scored nineteen times in the Premier League this term and twenty-five have been netted in all competitions. Although the Cityzens aren’t at their best this term, there have been seven goals in eight games played.
Phil Foden has had an underwhelming campaign although perhaps the England international will come to the fore, with Rodrygo another solid performer on a big stage and the Spaniard might be able to get on the scoresheet here.