WITH another Premier League title pretty much in the bag, Manchester City will now look to take another step towards their Holy Grail by dumping Real Madrid to reach the Champions League Final.
One more victory in their final three games will guarantee a fifth league crown in six years for Pep Guardiola's relentless side after Arsenal's challenge suffered a fatal blow in Sunday's 3-0 loss to Brighton.
That came just hours after Manchester City made it 11 Premier League wins in a row by crushing Everton 3-0 and they haven't tasted defeat in any competition since a 1-0 loss to Tottenham in early February.
Guardiola's side emerged with a creditable 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu last week in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final after Vinicius Junior had fired Real Madrid into the lead to bring up a bet for me.
They are now odds-on favourites to finish the job at the Etihad and Man City's best price to lift the European Cup for the first time is just a tiny 8/11 at 888Sport.
But it would be foolish to write off a Real Madrid side who have ruled the continent five times in the last nine years and have made a habit of crushing English dreams in this competition.
Carlo Ancelotti's men beat Chelsea, City and Liverpool on their march to glory last term and have already knocked the Blues and Reds out in this year's competition. So they won't fear a trip to Etihad and have the firepower to upset the odds if Guardiola's side fail to hit top gear.
How the bookies view it
The best price on Manchester City reaching the final is just 10/29 at VBet with Real Madrid as big as 13/5 at LiveScoreBet. For a win on the night, Man City are 5/8 at VBet, with Ancelotti's side 9/2 at BetVictor and the draw paying 7/2 with Betway.
Head to head
There's still nothing to separate these sides sides after nine meetings in Europe, with three wins apiece and three draws. But Manchester City have held the edge at the Etihad, winning 4-3 in last season's semi-final first leg and 2-1 when Real Madrid came calling in 2020.
Players to watch
Kevin De Bruyne stepped up for Guardiola in the Bernabeu as he rifled home a brilliant equaliser. The Belgian will be key to City's hopes in the return and is 3/1 for another goal. An assist is more likely though and that pays evens with Paddy Power.
Vinicius Junior did me a turn in the first leg with his spectacular opener and will be a big threat once more on the counter attack. The Brazilian is 18/5 at Quinnbet for another goal while Paddy Power have him at 13/5 for an assist.
Anything else catch the eye?
Dani Carvajal had a running battle with Jack Grealish in the first leg and was lucky to avoid a card. The full-back is 15/8 at Bet365 to be carded here while over 11.5 Real Madrid fouls also looks good at 10/11 with Unibet.
We saw seven goals when these sides last faced off at the Etihad so it bodes well for an open game. But both teams to score is just 5/7 at VBet and over 2.5 goals also offers poor value at 8/13 with the same firm. I'm more drawn to the 29/20 on offer at Ladbrokes for over 1.5 first-half goals.
Unibet have some good stats bets as usual and Real Madrid winger Rodrygo is a tempting 23/20 just to have a shot on target, although he is an injury doubt after picking up a knock in the first leg. Marco Asensio will deputise if he fails to make it and is an even better price at 29/20 for a shot on target.
This UEFA Champions League match between Manchester City and Real Madrid will be played on May 17, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester City vs Real Madrid prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
