STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Tues: Manchester City v Real Madrid

Football can often be unpredictable, but few people would have guessed that one of Manchester City or Real Madrid wouldn’t have made the last 16 of the Champions League, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

Yet rocky moments for both sides this season sees them clash in a blockbuster two-leg play-off, and an eventual evening is expected in Manchester.

The hosts were within touching distance of missing out on the knockouts after a mid-season collapse, needing a comeback against Club Brugge in the final knockout game, but they have recovered in some ways since their collapse which saw them lose eight of 12 games from the end of October to Boxing Day.

They’ve won 7 of 10 games since then and have also jumped into the January transfer market to add Omar Marmoush in attack, Nico Gonzales in midfield and Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov to shore up their defence, and the mood around the Etihad is certainly improved. They’ve also began finding the net more regularly again, scoring at least twice in 10 of their last 11 games.

However, City have not suddenly become the team of old and holes can be picked in their form. Of their 7 wins since Boxing Day, two have come against Salford and Leyton Orient in the FA Cup, two more against relegation battlers Leicester and Ipswich, and the other successes were against out of form West Ham and Chelsea sides who have struggled in recent months.

City collapsed from 2-0 up to lose 4-2 at Paris St Germain three weeks ago and were pummelled 5-1 by an Arsenal side that had struggled with injuries, conceding four without reply after Erling Haaland had drawn them level. Both defeats came on the road, but they also exposed the issues City have had in transition, something which doesn’t appear likely to change anytime soon.

Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic have been exposed all season on the counterattack, whilst Manuel Akanji and John Stones (just back from injury) have also been vulnerable as well, all of which spells trouble considering Madrid’s attacking talents.

⭐️ STARSPORTS.BET CHAMPIONS LEAGUE OUTRIGHT MARKETS ⭐️ 

Manchester City v Real Madrid
UEFA Champions League Playoff, First Leg
20:00 TNT Sports 1 HD / TNT Ultimate / Amazon Prime

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
MAY 2023 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester City
MAY 2023 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Manchester City 4-0 Real Madrid
APR 2024 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Real Madrid 3-3 Manchester City
APR 2024 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Manchester City 1-1 Real Madrid

MANCHESTER CITY
FEB 2025 FA CUP Leyton Orient 1-2 Manchester City
FEB 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City
JAN 2025 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Manchester City 3-1 Club Brugge
JAN 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester City 3-1 Chelsea
JAN 2025 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Paris St-Germain 4-2 Manchester City

REAL MADRID
FEB 2025 LA LIGA Real Madrid 1-1 Atl Madrid
FEB 2025 COPA DEL REY Leganes 2-3 Real Madrid
FEB 2025 LA LIGA Espanyol 1-0 Real Madrid
JAN 2025 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Brest 0-3 Real Madrid
JAN 2025 LA LIGA Valladolid 0-3 Real Madrid

⭐️ STARSPORTS.BET MATCH MARKETS ⭐️

Real Madrid had their own struggles in the group phase – losses to Lille and Milan threatened to derail their European campaign – but as the season has grown Kylian Mbappé has found a tactical fit in the side, making for a deadly attacking combination with Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, and Vinicius Junior.

Mbappé scored the equaliser in Sunday’s Madrid derby from the spot, making it nine goals in his last seven games for Los Merengues and 23 in total across all competitions. Vinicius Junior has 17 in all competitions, Jude Bellingham has 10, and Rodrygo has 13, underlining the threat they bring to the table.

If there is a weakness for Madrid, it’s their defensive injuries. Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao and David Alaba are all out and Carvajal’s back-up, Lucas Vazquez, picked up an injury at the weekend and is expected to miss out here as well, which is likely to leave them vulnerable at some point especially if City dominate possession, facing a centre-back pairing of Aurelien Tchouameni and Raul Asencio.

All these circumstances point to goals, which have been a feature of recent head-to-heads – they average four goals a game – explaining why 3.5 goals is just ? with starsports.bet.

Goals are an obvious route into the game but the match odds have some interest, with 20/21 about Manchester City not appealing given their struggles against high class opposition this season. Indeed 19/10 about Real Madrid looks too big, whilst the 4/6 about them to go back to Madrid at least level is also tempting, providing some insurance for Madrid’s defensive injuries.

Combining both teams to score, over 2.5 goals, Real Madrid with a one goal start and Vinicius Junior to score anytime pays 5.17/1 with starsports.bet and could give backers an excellent run for their money if City and Madrid give us more of the same when they meet again.

---

RECOMMENDED BETS
BACK Real Madrid 1pt at 5/2 (⭐️ ?  CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK Real Madrid/Draw 3pts at 10/11 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
Build-a-bet: Both Teams To Score, Over 2.5 Goals, Real Madrid +1, and Vinicius Junior to score anytime 1pt at 5.17/1 with starsports.bet

---

(FEB 2025): PROFIT/LOSS: -2.94 points

---

STAR PROMOTIONS