It’s going to be another intriguing encounter between Manchester City and Real Madrid when the two European heavyweights go head to head. Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti have a stack of mutual respect, although it’s the champions of England who are in a stronger position after a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu although the away goals rule has been scrapped.
It means that City will need to go out and attack opponents who are clearly dangerous on the break, with Eduardo Camavinga managing to break free of the shackles of Bernardo Silva for his team’s goal which was expertly taken by Vinicius Junior. The latter has now become the danger man for Real and he was able to torment Chelsea and Liverpool earlier in the competition.
From a betting perspective, it’s hard to see anything other than a high-scoring encounter. If one team takes the lead, then the opponent will have to come out attacking and perhaps the best bet could be both teams to score once again. We like the idea of a Manchester City win and both sides finding the net, with Haaland sure to get some chances.
It was David Alaba who snuffed out Haaland’s best chance although we should note that City beat Bayern Munich 3-0 in the previous round and we’ll expect the English champions to finally overrun opponents who might have to suffer and defend deep, with Thibaut Courtois set for a busy night and his performance is essential to Real Madrid’s success.