Champions League: Things are Suddenly Looking Up for Manchester City

Manchester City vs Real Madrid

Manchester City head back home to the Etihad in high spirits ahead of the second leg of their Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid. That is because the rare treble is still in the cards this season, and they’re in full control of their destiny.

After holding Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, they seemingly have the edge in this tie, but it’s tight. They’re also one league victory away from securing yet another Premier League title, and they’re also through to the FA Cup Final to face Manchester United in June.

As for Real Madrid, the Champions League is the only one left to play for after they ceded the La Liga title to Barcelona recently.

The first leg certainly didn’t disappoint, so SBOTOP football fans can expect nothing less in the second leg this Wednesday.

Talking Points

Haaland can land the knockout punch for Manchester City

Pep Guardiola recently declared that Erling Haaland would play better in the second leg against Real Madrid.

Haaland had a difficult night at the Bernabeu in the first leg because Real Madrid’s defense, particularly Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba, subdued him. The Norwegian had the fewest touches in the opening game of any starting player, including goalkeepers Ederson and Thibaut Courtois, with only 21.

Given how he has performed at the Etihad this season, scoring 35 goals on home soil so far, Haaland is in line for a breakout performance. He just scored his 52^nd goal of the campaign against Everton last time out.

He was recently named England’s footballer of the year on Friday in recognition of his record-breaking campaign at the Etihad, winning by a whopping margin with 82-per cent of votes.

Since arriving from Borussia Dortmund, Erling Haaland has been living up to his promise, and it feels like he’s the final piece in the Manchester City jigsaw as they aim to win their first-ever Champions League trophy.

But Manchester City wouldn’t be in this position in the first place if it weren’t for Kevin De Bruyne, who scored their only goal in the first leg.

The Belgian talisman was given the night off in their 3-0 victory against Everton, so he will have fresh legs against Real Madrid.

Real Madrid need Benzema at 100-per cent

Carlo Ancelotti is sweating on the fitness of Karim Benzema, who was one of three Real Madrid stars missing from training ahead of the second leg against Manchester City.

Karim Benzema, Rodrygo, and David Alaba were all absent against Getafe last weekend, so the news of them sitting out practice is a cause for concern.

Benzema and Alaba have struggled with fitness issues all season, while Rodrygo was nursing himself during the latter stages of the first leg against the Sky Blues.

One would hope that this is all precautionary because all three of them are important in Carlo Ancelotti’s plans. But the most important is going to be Benzema, because they really don’t have a bona fide backup for him.

The Frenchman leads the team in scoring with 22 goals, and he also has five assists. If he’s not available against the Sky Blues, Vinicius Junior is going to lead up front for Los Blancos alongside Marco Asensio and Fede Valverde.

History

Since Pep Guardiola took over as their manager, the Sky Blues have only lost one of their last five meetings against Los Blancos in the Champions League (W3, D1).

Prior to this stretch, Manchester City were winless in their first four games against Real Madrid in this competition between 2012 and 2016 (D2, L2).

Real Madrid are winless in their previous four away games against Manchester City in the Champions League (D2, L2), losing each of the last two. However, they won their last two away games against English sides in the Champions League knockout stages earlier this season.

Carlo Ancelotti is going to coach his 191^st Champions League game, which is the most of any manager in the competition’s history, overtaking Sir Alex Ferguson (190).

Betting Tip 

The Champions League 2023 odds will have Sky Blues fans giddy because they have Manchester City priced to win at 1.55, whereas Real Madrid are 4.90 underdogs, and a draw is at 4.00 in the 1X2 market.

Just like in the first leg last week, this game is going to be another tough call filled with Champions League 2023 highlights. So, the safest bet here is going for Total Goal 2-3 at 2.00 because of the aggregate attacking quality of these two sides.

 

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