Real Madrid – Manchester City

The visitors will once again prove their advantage in Madrid.

Regarding the Manchester City and Real Madrid clash in the Champions League, there is no need to waste time on the draw anymore; one can simply find a way to determine at which exact stage these clubs will meet again. Maybe they wouldn’t want that, but year after year fate brings the English and Spanish outfits together in the Champions League knockout rounds. Since 2020, in only one out of six cases have the clubs not crossed paths in the knockout matches of Europe’s elite tournament, and in this Champions League edition they have also met in the group stage. In terms of progress further into the knockout rounds over the period mentioned, Real Madrid leads, having prevailed three times against two successful duels by Manchester City. The match between the opponents at the group stage of the current edition of the Champions League took place at the Santiago Bernabéu, when the royal club was coached by Xabi Alonso. In the middle of the first half, Rodrygo managed to put the hosts ahead, but by the break Pep Guardiola's team had taken the lead after goals by O'Reilly and Haaland. The final whistle recorded Manchester City's victory, which will give the Mancunians a psychological edge ahead of the upcoming meeting. Bookmakers determined the visitors as favorites for their victory, offering odds of 2.02 on their win. Real Madrid quite confidently passed the playoff qualifying round, beating Portuguese Benfica twice. At the same time, the Whites' form is currently the worst of the season. And this is not only due to the imbalance in the team's play, but also to the abundance of injured players. It got to the point that against Celta on Friday almost all healthy first-team players took the field, and Álvaro Arbeloa managed to make only three substitutions, given that Real Madrid's scoreline up to the 90+3 minute was not satisfactory. The Whites' situation is such that in the last three weeks they managed to lose to Osasuna and Getafe. In the previous round of La Liga in Vigo, Mbappé, Rodrygo, Bellingham, Ceballos, Camavinga, Éder Militao and three suspended players could not take part. Manchester City now is a much more favorable on-field side, which in Madrid will again prove its advantage.