Manchester City and Real Madrid have locked horns plenty of times in recent seasons, but one of the last two Champions League winners will be eliminated before the round of 16. Both big-hitters had a tough time in the Champions League's new league phase. City needed a comeback win against Club Brugge to ensure they weren't eliminated before the play-off round, while three defeats from eight left Carlo Ancelotti's team short of a top-eight finish.
It's a third successive season in which these teams have faced off in Europe. Madrid won on penalties last term and after extra-time in 2022, while City were 5-1 aggregate winners en route to their 2023 Treble. How will it play out this time, though? Mirror Football's writers have given their verdict ahead of the first leg, with City and Madrid both desperate to lay down a marker as they vie for a chance to take on Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16.
If Manchester City struggled to beat League One Leyton Orient in the FA Cup, how are they expected to get the better of the kings of Europe?. By their own high standards, Real Madrid have not been in full flow this season. But Carlo Ancelotti's superstars have still only lost twice in all competitions since the first week of December. And the Spanish giants appear to think they have a divine right to win the Champions League every season.
Combine this with City's disastrous form this season, and it looks like being a big ask for Pep Guardiola's side to get past Real over two legs. City have to take an advantage from the home leg back to the Spanish capital, otherwise they won't stand a chance. Prediction: Manchester City 1 Real Madrid 3. Too close to call - or too repetitive for neutrals to care?. The biggest problem with the Champions League, or TV wallpaper as it should be known, is that it's the same cast every year in the knockout rounds. The usual suspects.
It would make a nice change if Herdy Gerdy Rovers or Smorgasbord Rangers got a look-in, but money talks loudest and the winners of this tie will probably go on and win the European Cup. This season, the fact that City and Real are meeting in a repechage play-off round, instead of the final or the semis (which should be the case), is a tribute to their staggering complacency in the league phase. I don't fancy City's chances much. They will need a clean sheet in at least one of the legs, and they have managed only three in their last 15 games - against Salford, Ipswich and Leicester. League Two minnows and two of the Premier League's bottom three. I expect the first leg to be more cagey than London Zoo. Prediction: Manchester City 1 Real Madrid 1.
Give your own predictions for Manchester City vs Real Madrid n the comments section. If Manchester City reproduce the standards of their last meeting with Real Madrid - one that ended up with the Spaniards winning on penalties - they will win at the Etihad. The 1-1 draw in the second leg of last season’s quarter-final was something of a travesty and Pep Guardiola would take that sort of performance this time around.
The problem is that there is no Rodri and City’s intensity - particularly off the ball - has disappeared, meaning they are a defensive accident waiting to happen.That is why Real, with their firepower, will score more than once in Manchester, especially if Ederson is not fit to play. But there have been some rumblings of disharmony in the Real camp - as there always are - and I have a hunch City will also have plenty of attacking joy. It might not be a classic but it will be hugely entertaining, that is for sure. I’m going for a high-scoring draw that will leave the tie in the balance. Prediction: Manchester City 3 Real Madrid 3.
Cast your mind back to when these teams met in the Champions League 10 months ago, they were - in my book - the two best sides in the world. But after what's been a topsy-turvy few months for both clubs, only one will reach the last 16 of Europe's elite competition. The odds should be stacked in Manchester City's favour, with Real Madrid going through a true injury crisis in defence. But even the mighty City laboured to a win over League One Leyton Orient on Saturday which should give Carlo Ancelotti's men hope.
I'm backing Erling Haaland to break his duck against Real but Kylian Mbappe and Co. will have something to take back to the Bernabeu. Prediction: Manchester City 1 Real Madrid 1. With both sides facing so many defensive issues, in particular Real, there is the potential for this to be another high-scoring encounter, just like last season's epic 3-3 draw at the quarter-final stage at the Bernabeu. City will look to take advantage of Real's weakened back line, with Carlo Ancelotti missing Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vasquez and David Alaba, with Erling Haaland looking to break his duck against the Spanish giants at the fifth time of asking.
When even Pep Guardiola admits he has no idea which version of his City team will turn up, given their uncharacteristically poor form this season, it is hard to make scoreline predictions with any degree of certainty. Yet one thing is certain - Real possess the most formidable attack in world football and as such will look to take a healthy lead back to the Bernabeu for the decisive second leg a week tomorrow.
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