Champions League: Real Madrid vs. Manchester City Preview, Odds and Prediction

Real Madrid and Manchester City are highlighting the entire round of 16 stages of the Champions League. The match at Santiago Bernabeu is the most anticipated of them all, and it draws massive attention. Real is experiencing problems with pale performances in recent times, while on the other side, City is under pressure after receiving the UEFA ban on international competitions.

Preview

Real Madrid (+190) lost Eden Hazard this weekend when the Belgian international suffered a fractured ankle. It is a massive blow for Zidane and his side, who lost on the road to Levante, 1-0, and didn’t win for the third time in the previous four events. It is the second straight at Bernabeu in which Los Blancos didn’t post a triumph. Overall, they are playing efficient football, and three of the latest four events saw both sides to score and Over 3.5 scores. Regarding this event, the main enigma is the mental state of the team, who is a bit shaken by the results and also with Hazard’s bad luck.

Manchester City (+130) regained their usual form, and they won in Leicester with 0-1. The state of shock following a UEFA suspension is over, and Guardiola’s guys are in the saddle once again. Sky-Blues’ defense is tightened up, and they haven’t allowed a goal in the last two matches. The Spanish manager is now starting to increase the temperature of the machine, and he stated that in a few interviews before and after the game with Leicester. Believe it or not, six straight games City played ended without goals on both sides. Those two defeats against United and Tottenham were not because they played badly, they simply happened. But as we saw, everything is fine now.

Latest News

As we said, Hazard is out for the next few weeks. Even though he didn’t play many games this season, his comeback was expected anxiously among the Los Blancos’ fans. Gareth Bale is questionable, the same as Luka Jovic. Marco Asensio is out.

On the other side, Raheem Sterling is doubtful, and he is a game-time decision.

Previous Matches

Back in 2016, the two sides met in the playoffs, and Real won with 1-0 on aggregate, beating City in Spain. Fernando’s own goal was the decider here. Previously they played in 2012 during the group stage. The match in Madrid ended in Real’s favor 3-2, while the one in London finished 1-1.

Prediction

The statistic is indicating that there won’t be many goals here. But that is all numbers, without a feeling for the game. From our point of view, this contest will see at least three goals, and possibly a lot more. City’s attack is much better than Real’s defense, but that doesn’t imply that the Sky-BLues might end, but that the Los Blancos aren’t going to defend. Instead, Zidane will try to respond with the same measure and attack Guardiola. The odds for this pick are -150. The profit is not great bt is certain. Also, try with Over 1.5 goals n the second halftime, it should be safe.