Real Madrid vs Manchester City Preview

Real Madrid and Manchester City will rekindle their recent rivalry this Wednesday when they meet in the second leg of the Champions League knockout playoffs.

Madrid come into this match with a slender one-goal advantage after coming from a goal down twice to register a 3-2 win in the first leg at the Etihad. However, they followed that win up with a 1-1 draw against Osasuna at the weekend, extending their winless run in La Liga to three games (D2, L1.

Despite that setback, history is on their side in this Champions League fixture as they have progressed on 37 of the 39 occasions they’ve won the first leg of a European knockout stage tie away from home. Los Blancos are even more ruthless at the Bernabu, where they have scored in all but one of their last 78 Champions League home outings, averaging 2.65 goals per game in the process.

Some of those goals helped contribute to a solid overall home record against English opposition (W12, D9, L4), although the fact that Real’s last three Champions League eliminations all came against Premier League opponents offers a note of caution.

City will be looking to avoid being knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid for the third time in the last four seasons when they travel to Spain.

Pep Guardiola’s side have suffered recently at the hands of the 15-time European champions and could be handed even more embarrassment unless they produce another big performance. The signs point at such a possiblity as the Citizens have exhibited a lack of staying power this season, with the defeat in the first leg their third Champions League loss after scoring the opener this season – no side has ever lost more in a single campaign.

However, City made some progress on that front over the weekend as they swept Newcastle aside (4-0), although the next psychological hurdle is to overcome a first-leg deficit to progress in the Champions League for the very first time at the fifth attempt. Guardiola also must end his own longest losing streak of Champions League away games (L3) in order to turn the tables on what will be his tenth continental clash against Carlo Ancelotti.

The Spanish tactician has yet to defeat his counterpart away from home (D2, L2), with his three games as City boss contributing to a rather limp overall away record for the club against Spanish opponents (W4, D4, L8).