Manchester City v. Real Madrid Champions League Betting Preview
The Champions League resumes on Friday as nearly-banned Manchester City host Real Madrid in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie. City will be without injured striker Sergio Aguero but Los Blancos won’t have suspended captain Sergio Ramos as they look to overturn a 2-1 home loss from the first leg. Real Madrid have won just one of their last seven Champions league games with Ramos in the lineup
City won the first leg in Spain 2-1 on February 26 with a 78th minute goal from Gabriel Jesus and an 83rd minute penalty kick from Kevin De Bruyne. Isco scored for Real Madrid in the 60th minute but they lost Ramos to a late red card. The teams met in the 2016 CL Semifinals with Real Madrid advancing to the finals after a 0-0 draw in England and a 1-0 win in Madrid.
Manchester City Outlook: Finish the Job
The English Premier League season didn’t go according to plan for Pep Guardiola’s squad as their two-year title streak ended 19 points behind Liverpool. They did left the EFL Cup in March but fell out of the FA Cup in the semifinals. This Champions League run can make their season, especially given their recent Court of Appeals win over UEFA.
In their seven Champions League games this year City have tallied 18 goals with Jesus and Raheem Sterling scoring five each. Overall Sterling leads the way with 30 goals while Aguero had 23 before a knee injury. De Bruyne has 23 assists for a team with 142 goals in all competitions this year.
City are the co-favorites to win the Champions League at +300. They have never won the biggest trophy in Europe before, falling in the quarterfinal round each of the last two seasons. The only time they made the semi final was in 2015-16 when they lost to Real Madrid.
Real Madrid Outlook: Attack
The Spanish champions won 10 straight games after the COVID break to snatch the La Liga title from Barcelona. In those 10 games they outscored opponents 19-4 before drawing Leganes 2-2 in the league finale.
In seven Champions League games this year Real Madrid scored 15 goals and allowed 10. Rodrygo and Karim Benzema lead the way with four goals each while Marcelo has three assists. Thibaut Courtois allowed nine goals in six Champions League starts but the Belgian only allowed 20 goals in 34 La Liga games this season.
Real Madrid are the most successful team in Champions League history with 13 titles, including three of the last four. In manager Zinedine Zidane’s first tenure at the club Los Blancos won three in a row from 2016-18 before being upset by Ajax Amsterdam in the Round of 16 last year. The last time they went two straight seasons without making it to at least the quarterfinals was 2009-10.
Manchester City v. Real Madrid Betting Lines By Realbookies
Manchester City -147 to win
Real Madrid +307 to win
Draw +318
Over/Under 3 goals (O -107, U -123)
City scored nine goals in their last two Premier League games and have scored at least two goals in their last seven wins. Goalkeeper Ederson won the league’s Golden Gloves award last week after securing his 16th shutout.
Real Madrid are playing among the best soccer in the world with 10 wins in 11 games since the return to play. They are very familiar with Guardiola’s system from his Barcelona days but going on the road without Ramos to beat a high-powered Manchester City team might be asking too much.
Go to Real Bookies ; our favorite pay per head bookie site and bet the over 3 goals (-107)