Manchester City vs. Real Madrid: UCL Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

In Tuesday's massive first leg at the Etihad, Manchester City and Real Madrid—the previous two Champions League champions—will square off in a battle for a spot in the round of 16 of the 2024–25 season.

The defending European champions were within striking distance of a top-eight finish, but their hosts had to stage a miraculous comeback on matchday eight to stave off the shame of losing early.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

The champions-in-crisis under Pep Guardiola was a long cry from the unstoppable European squad that went 22 games undefeated in the Champions League from September 2022 to April 2024. They were in danger of being ousted at the first hurdle of the league round.

City was only successful in two of its first seven Champions League matches this season. On the last matchday, however, it advanced to the top 24 thanks to a 3-1 comeback victory against Belgian heavyweights Club Brugge.

Following their humiliating 5-1 Premier League loss to Arsenal, Guardiola's men barely scraped off an uninspiring 2-1 FA Cup victory against third-tier Leyton Orient on Saturday. This comes after the Sky Blues almost avoided elimination in Europe.

While the English champions' cup triumph was their sixth in a row, and Guardiola's crop has scored in 13 straight games, the form book still makes for entertaining reading for Man City fans at face value.

Moreover, the Citizens have not lost a single home game at the Etihad Stadium in 2025, with victories over Chelsea, Club Brugge, Salford City, and West Ham United, all of which featured three-goal performances. This could be the hosts' first five-game winning streak in any competition since 2023.

Real Madrid's usual spot in the knockout stages was somewhat jeopardized after three losses from their first five continental matches of the season. This added to their dwindling influence in Europe after last year's record-extending 15th title at Wembley.

Even though Carlo Ancelotti's veterans barely missed out on the top eight with victories over Atalanta BC, Red Bull Salzburg, and Brest in the last three league matches, they still had a disappointing season because they didn't advance directly to the round of 16.

Real Madrid's domestic results have been all over the map since their last Europa League match, a 3-0 victory over Brest. They've gone winless, tied, and defeated in the Copa del Rey and La Liga. On Saturday, they contentiously accepted a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid, their city rivals.

Kylian Mbappe equalized after Julian Alvarez's controversial penalty in that match at the Bernabeu. Ancelotti's team had the upper hand in the second half, but Jan Oblak and their carelessness beat them down.

However, with that point, Real Madrid maintained their lead in La Liga, surpassing Diego Simeone's team. Los Blancos are getting ready to meet Man City for the fourth consecutive Champions League season. Last season, Real Madrid ended City's dominance on penalties, so they have happy memories of that match.

Manchester City x Real Madrid Team News

Man City's new midfielder Nico Gonzalez had a disastrous start, being knocked off the ball right before Leyton Orient's bizarre first goal and then coming off the pitch injured in Saturday's FA Cup victory.

Jeremy Doku (unspecified), Ederson (unspecified), Oscar Bobb (leg), Nathan Ake (muscle), and Rodri (long-term ACL) are all on Guardiola's questionable list after the game. However, the severity of the Spaniard's injury remained unclear.

After Saturday's game-winning goal, Kevin De Bruyne will likely return to the starting lineup and try to add another piece of Champions League history to his resume. Belgium international scored nine goals and eight assists in the campaign, putting him first.

While David Alaba (muscle), Dani Carvajal (knee), Eder Militao (knee), Antonio Rudiger (thigh), and Lucas Vazquez (hamstring) are all out with injuries, Los Blancos are in the middle of a defensive crisis as they go to Manchester.

A few Blancos players are also precariously balanced on the brink of suspension; Ancelotti, Jude Bellingham, Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Endrick, and Aurelien Tchouameni will all sit out the second leg if they get yellow cards at the Etihad.

At the Etihad, however, the Italian will field his strongest possible eleven, including the promising youngster Raul Asencio at centre-back in case Tchouameni is again pressed into service.

Our predictions

Full-time draw @ 3.80 on Sky247.ng

It is preferable to say nothing about Man City's performance against Leyton Orient. Still, Pep Guardiola unsurprisingly made many substitutions, and the English champions have lately found their scoring touch—and won games—at Etihad Stadium.

We anticipate that Real Madrid will be pleased to go home after an intriguing first-leg draw despite the hosts' offensive exploits on their turf threatening their shattered defense. Ancelotti's squad was notoriously inept when it was defeated in Europe.

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