Real Madrid and Manchester City will meet in the most intriguing tie in the Champions League round of 16. Los Blancos are aiming to progress over the sportsbooks’ favourite to win the Champions League.
Zinedine Zidane’s team are not in form going into the Wednesday night fixture. Real Madrid are winless in two straight La Liga matches. Their shock 1-0 loss at the weekend to Levante allowed Barcelona to usurp them in the La Liga table.
Manchester City have won back to back Premier League fixtures but sit 22 points behind Liverpool in the title race. The Reds need just 12 more points to take the title away from Manchester City making the Champions League the highest profile trophy Pep Guardiola’s team can still win.
The Cityzens are facing a two-year ban from the Champions League for Financial Fair Play violations. This season could be Manchester City’s last chance to win the trophy until 2022-23. It is the trophy the club’s ownership are desperate to win but have continued to come up short in their attempts.
Real Madrid are facing a major injury problem as Eden Hazard is once again hurt. Los Blancos are worried about the extent of Hazard’s injury after he came off against Levante at the weekend. Hazard has only been back from a hairline ankle fracture for a few weeks.
Gareth Bale could take Hazard’s place if fit, but the Welshman is recovering from an illness. Marco Asensio is out of the game with a long-term injury. He won’t return this season.
Manchester City have received a massive injury boost as Raheem Sterling is set to return to the team. The forward has been linked with a transfer to Real Madrid in the build-up to the fixture. Guardiola has no other injuries going into the fixture and can pick from a full squad.
The Cityzens have found the knockout stages to be difficult to get through in recent seasons. It was the quarterfinals in which they were eliminated from the tournament in the last two seasons. Liverpool knocked them out in 2017-18 and Tottenham Hotspur last term.
Real Madrid were eliminated from the Champions League at this stage last season by Ajax. Although Zidane has had a full year to coach the team, it is difficult to say that Real Madrid are improved, especially with the injury to Hazard.
🏆⚽ En sus marcas, listos, @LigadeCampeones.👊 @LukaModric10 👊 @ToniKroos 👊 @SergioRamos 👊 @Casemiro #RMUCL | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/N5GhnOWC2G— Real Madrid C.F.⚽ (@realmadrid) February 24, 2020
🏆⚽ En sus marcas, listos, @LigadeCampeones.👊 @LukaModric10 👊 @ToniKroos 👊 @SergioRamos 👊 @Casemiro #RMUCL | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/N5GhnOWC2G
Manchester City and Real Madrid met in 2015-16 in the Champions League semifinals. After a nil-nil match in Manchester, Los Blancos won 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu before winning the final.
Real Madrid should win against Manchester City once more at home setting up a huge second leg at the Etihad Stadium. Expect both teams to score and over 2.5 goals tallied.