Two of the UEFA Champions League’s biggest teams face off yet again at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, with Real Madrid and Manchester City locking horns for the eighth time in three-and-a-half years.
While neither team’s future in the competition is at stake this time around, defeat for either team could leave them in a more precarious position than they would like heading into the latter stages of the League Phase.
Real Madrid vs Manchester City Bet Builder Tips
Over 3.5 goals @ 6/5
Kylian Mbappe to score anytime @ 7/8
Phil Foden to score anytime @ 17/10
Pays out at 5/1
Bernabeu backed to host goal-fest
Xabi Alonso has found himself under increasing pressure since Real Madrid’s shock defeat at home to Celta Vigo at the weekend, but the Spaniard has the opportunity to make amends against a Manchester City side that lost home and away to Los Blancos earlier this year, and another high-scoring affair is expected.
Nine goals were scored across those two meetings in February, and four or more goals have gone in in four of the last five meetings between these two European giants.
Both sides have been prolific this season, too, with 94 goals scored in 43 combined games, and the Citizens’ recent three-match winning streak has produced a massive 17 goals in total.
Leg 1: Over 3.5 goals @ 6/5
Mbappe can be relied on for a goal
Wednesday’s clash will understandably be billed as a battle between two of the world’s best strikers in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, and it is the France captain who looks set to emerge victorious in that personal sideshow.
The Real Madrid star has scored 25 goals for the club this season and nine of those have come in his five Champions League appearances.
He notched four times against Olympiacos in matchday five and has nine goals and three assists in his last six appearances in all competitions, while his hat-trick against Manchester City at the Bernabeu in April took his tally against the Citizens to seven goals in seven appearances for three different clubs.
Leg 2: Kylian Mbappe to score anytime @ 7/8
Foden can overshadow Haaland
Striking colleague Erling Haaland has taken most of the plaudits for Pep Guardiola’s side this season, but Phil Foden has rediscovered his best form of late and could be the visitors’ best hope for finding the net in Madrid.
The 25-year-old scored and assisted in Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday, making it five goals in his last three appearances and nine goals this season.
Foden has four goal contributions in his last seven meetings with Los Blancos, and he can add to his tally on Wednesday.
Leg 3: Phil Foden to score anytime @ 17/10
