STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Weds: Real Madrid v Manchester City

One of Real Madrid and Manchester City will be knocked out of the Champions League before the Last 16 and we can expect an action-packed second leg between the two, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

Just a week ago it looked as if City were going to head to Spain with a lead after Eling Haaland’s 80th minute penalty, but this season has been a tale of late collapses for Manchester City and in hindsight, it was no surprise that Real Madrid, the ultimate survivors of the modern Champions League, managed to pull a late turnaround with goals from Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham.

The manner of that victory will have been a huge sucker punch to City, although it was hard to argue that Madrid were lucky. They created nine big chances, won the shot count 20-11 and the shots on target count 8-4, with Vinicius Jnr hitting the bar and Jude Bellingham having two big chances himself before his winner.

It was a game that went to form – in each of the last three calendar years these two clubs have produced tremendously entertaining contests – and it would be no surprise if we saw something similar once again this evening.

City should arrive with a confidence boost after a 4-0 route of Newcastle thanks to a 14-minute hat-trick from Omar Marmoush, when City looked much more like the team of old, with Savinho (who also had his moments in the first leg), terrorising Lewis Hall from the first minute, whilst Nico Gonzalez looked assured in midfield, giving City a big boost ahead of a crucial period coming up.

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Real Madrid v Manchester City
UEFA Champions League Playoff, Second Leg
20:00 TNT Sports 1 HD / TNT Ultimate / Discovery +

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
FEB 2025 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAY-OFF ROUND 1ST LEG Manchester City 2-3 Real Madrid
APR 2024 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL 2ND LEG Manchester City 1-1 Real Madrid
APR 2024 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL 1ST LEG Real Madrid 3-3 Manchester City
MAY 2023 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL 2ND LEG Manchester City 4-0 Real Madrid
MAY 2023 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL 1ST LEG Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester City

REAL MADRID
FEB 2025 LA LIGA Osasuna 1-1 Real Madrid
FEB 2025 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAY-OFF ROUND 1ST LEG Manchester City 2-3 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

MANCHESTER CITY
FEB 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester City 4-0 Newcastle
FEB 2025 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAY-OFF ROUND 1ST LEG Manchester City 2-3 Real Madrid
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

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That was a better weekend outing than Madrid had, with a controversial draw against Osasuna – where Jude Bellingham was sent off for insulting the referee – not helping matters in a tight title race. However, there’s plenty of debate about how Madrid could (and should, according to Carlo Ancelotti) have been given penalties for fouls on Vinícius Júnior and Bellingham and a handball inside the box by Alejandro Catena.

It’s not hard to imagine a similar contest to last week – City have to go for the game early and Madrid are filled with a side that is built to take advantage of opportunities in transition and on the counter attack – and it’s no surprise that the goal lines are high once again here.

Ten of City’s last 11 matches have gone over the 3.5-goal mark, and ? on that taking place with starsports.bet once again this evening is fair given the circumstances here. These teams have met nine times in the Champions League since 2020 and both teams have scored on eight occasions, which makes the 9/5 on Madrid winning alongside both teams to score a tempting option (along with Real Madrid to win and over 2, or 3.5 goals) considering the strength of their home record.

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