Real Madrid vs Manchester City
UEFA Champions League, KO: 20:00 Feb 19, 2025, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu
Real Madrid head into their UEFA Champions League playoff knockout round second-leg at home against Manchester City in a strong position. With both sides boasting strong attacking firepower, another high-scoring encounter is anticipated.
Real Madrid earned a 3-2 win in the first leg, coming from behind twice, with Jude Bellingham netting a brace. Carlo Ancelotti’s men will head into Wednesday’s clash off the back of a 1-1 draw at Osasuna in a La Liga fixture over the weekend.
Los Blancos are among the leading scorers in this season’s Champions League, scoring three or more goals in their four matches. However, injuries to key defensive players have affected their stability at the back, leading to them conceding seven goals in those four fixtures.
Manchester City led twice in the first leg thanks to a brace from Erling Haaland but suffered a late defensive capitulation. While it was a disappointing outcome, manager Pep Guardiola will still feel his team have a chance of turning things around.
The Citizens will head into this match full of confidence after a dominant 4-0 win over Newcastle United in the Premier League. Goals have not been a problem for the visitors, who have scored at least two goals in their last 10 matches in all competitions.
How the bookies view it: Real Madrid have the edge
Real Madrid have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 4/5 with BoyleSports to claim the win. A victory for Manchester City is valued at 13/5 while a draw is priced at 16/5 by BoyleSports.
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Head to head: Superior Madrid
Real Madrid have a 6-5 advantage with four draws from 15 previous matches against Manchester City. Los Blancos are also unbeaten in four of the last five meetings at the Santiago Bernabeu, with the most recent clash ending 3-3 back in 2024.
Players to watch: Red hot Mbappe
Kylian Mbappé is Real Madrid's top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions. He has found the net in each of his last three games, including the reverse fixture and is priced at 4/5 by BoyleSports to maintain his scoring run.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland scored a brace in the first leg, and has been on target eight times in their last 10 matches in all competitions. BoyleSports is offering odds of 11/10 on the striker to find the net on Wednesday.
Probable line-ups
Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba are injury doubts, while Lucas Vázquez, Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal remain sidelined. Fede Valverde is set to continue at right-back while Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo are expected to lead the Los Blancos attack.
After being substituted in the reverse fixture due to a knock, Jack Grealish remains sidelined, joining Manuel Akanji, Oscar Bobb and Rodri on the injured list for Manchester City. However, Savinho, Omar Marmoush and Haaland are all expected to lead the Citizens attack.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Valverde, Asencio, Rüdiger, Mendy, Camavinga, Tchouameni, Bellingham, Vinícius, Mbappé, Rodrygo
Manchester City: Ederson, Nunes, Dias, Stones, Gvardiol, Gonzalez, Kovacic, Savinho, Foden, Haaland, Marmoush
Anything else catch the eye?
Three of the last four encounters have seen over 3.5 goals, including a five-goal thriller in the first leg, with BoyleSports offering 4/5 odds for a repeat. There were more goals after the break in the first leg and a repeat is priced at 5/6 with BoyleSports.
Manchester City have opened the scoring in three of those clashes, including the reverse fixture, with BoyleSports offering 13/10 odds for them to do so again.
This UEFA Champions League match between Real Madrid and Manchester City will be played on Feb 19, 2025 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Real Madrid vs Manchester City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
