Real Madrid vs Manchester City Match Analysis & Prediction
09/05/2023 10:00 pm
The bright lights of the Bernabeu shine down on another entertaining Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night as Real Madrid host Manchester City at the Spanish capital for the first leg.
The reigning champions beat Chelsea 4-0 over two legs of their quarter-final to reach the last four, while Manchester City ran out 4-1 aggregate winners over Bayern Munich.
With the top-flight title almost a formality, Real Madrid will unequivocally prioritise a 15th top-level European crown in what remains of a hectic season, and they have only failed to reach the final in one of the previous five campaigns where they have progressed to the semis – losing to eventual winners Chelsea in 2020-21.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side enter the first leg on the back of five successive Champions League wins, keeping clean sheets in each of their last three, and they have scored in 16 continental matches in a row since a 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in February 2022.
However, Lucas Torro’s goal for Osasuna in Saturday’s Copa del Rey final did extend Real Madrid’s overall run without a clean sheet to four matches, – perhaps a slight concern as Eder Militao prepares to watch on from the naughty step – but any domestic concerns are normally left at the door when Ancelotti’s side walk out to the Champions League anthem.
Also with an FA Cup final in the back of their mind, a terrific treble remains a distinct possibility for Manchester City, who made Thomas Tuchel’s English homecoming a miserable one in a 3-0 quarter-final first-leg victory over Bayern Munich before picking up a satisfactory 1-1 draw in Munich.
Out of Man City’s last 16 matches across all competitions, that draw in Germany is the only one that they have not won, although Pep Guardiola is at risk of setting an unanted record of seven Champions League semi-final eliminations as a manager – his current statistic of six is the joint-most alongside Jose Mourinho.
The most recent of those final-four exits came at the hands of Real Madrid last year, as Mancheser City edged a seven-goal thriller 4-3 at the Etihad before losing 3-1 at the Bernabeu after extra time.
Real Madrid vs. Manchester City Head to head
In the 10 previous meetings between these two teams, they have each claimed four victories while drawing in two. Real Madrid have scored 18 goals and conceded 17 in the process.
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27/07/2017Manchester City4Real Madrid1International Champions Cup
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26/02/2020Real Madrid1Manchester City2Champions League
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07/08/2020Manchester City2Real Madrid1Champions League
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26/04/2022Manchester City4Real Madrid3Champions League
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04/05/2022Real Madrid(E)3Manchester City1Champions League
Real Madrid Team News
Real Madrid will be forced to work around the absence of Militao for the first leg due to suspension – the centre-back was cautioned for the third time in this season’s competition during the second leg of the quarter-finals.
Aurelien Tchouameni could be the unlucky fulcrum to make way for Luka Modric, while Antonio Rudiger will join forces with David Alaba at the back in place of Militao.
Real Madrid's Last 5 Matches
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22/04/2023Real Madrid2Celta Vigo0La Liga
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25/04/2023Girona4Real Madrid2La Liga
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29/04/2023Real Madrid4Almeria2La Liga
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02/05/2023Real Sociedad2Real Madrid0La Liga
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06/05/2023Real Madrid2Osasuna1Copa del Rey
Manchester City Team News
Guardiola lost Nathan Ake to an apparent hamstring issue with 54 minutes gone against Leeds, while Cole Palmer’s ankle is also giving him grief.
The Spanish will be tempted to recall Kyle Walker to try to keep Vinicius Junior at bay, while a host of well-rested regulars in Rodri, John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish are also primed to return to the first XI.
Manchester City's Last 5 Matches
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22/04/2023Manchester City3Sheffield United0FA Cup
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26/04/2023Manchester City4Arsenal1Premier League
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30/04/2023Fulham1Manchester City2Premier League
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03/05/2023Manchester City3West Ham United0Premier League
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06/05/2023Manchester City2Leeds United1Premier League
Real Madrid vs. Manchester City: Odds and Predictions
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