Real Madrid vs Man City: Preview and Betting Tips | UCL 2025

Los Blancos hold a 3-2 lead from the first leg and face a City side with three successive away defeats in this competition.

Match: Real Madrid vs Man City
When: Wednesday, 19 February 2025, 22:00
Where: Santiago Bernabéu

Real Madrid Form

Carlo Ancelotti’s side have been in mixed form of late with just two wins in the last five fixtures. They sit level with Barcelona at the top of La Liga. After a 5-2 humbling by Barca in the Spanish Super Cup in January, Los Blancos strung together five straight wins with 20 goals scored. A late goal led to a 1-0 loss at Espanyol at the start of this month.

A last-gasp goal from youngster Gonzalo Garcia sealed a 3-2 win at Leganes before a 1-1 home draw vs Atletico Madrid. Ancelotti’s team outshot their Madrid rivals 23-10 in that stalemate. Two late goals at Man City gave Real a 3-2 first-leg advantage as they put up 3.30 xG and 20 shots at the Etihad. On Saturday, they could only draw 1-1 at Osasuna as they played 51 minutes with ten men.

Real Madrid Team News

Three defenders are set to miss this match in Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez. Antonio Rudiger will return to start so Aurelien Tchouameni may move back into a midfield role.

David Alaba could also be fit to play some part from the bench in this one. Rodrygo is set to be selected ahead of former Man City winger Brahim Diaz.

Real Madrid Motivation

All focus and attention is on this match. Madrid have looked distracted in recent weeks as they give priority to this competition.

An open style is not expected. Ancelotti will try to play a smart game and hit City on the break at times.

Man City Form

City’s form is all over the place right now. Their last 13 matches have seen three losses but they’ve all come in the last seven matches. A 6-0 win at Ipswich was followed by a collapse in the second half to lose 4-2 at PSG. Successive 3-1 home wins followed, vs Chelsea and Club Brugge.

A 5-1 defeat at Arsenal saw another dire second half performance with just one shot attempted. A 2-1 win at Leyton Orient preceded the home 3-2 loss to Real Madrid in the first leg when City led 2-1 with 85 minutes on the clock. They smashed in-form Newcastle 4-0 this weekend as they limited the Magpies to 0.48 xG and three shots.

Man City Team News

Defender Vitor Reis is not registered for the Champions League whilst Manuel Akanji is injured. Rodri and Oscar Bobb are also ruled out and Jack Grealish is a major doubt despite travelling.

The big question is whether one, or both, of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are recalled. Erling Haaland is a slight doubt but should be fit to lead the line.

Man City Motivation

City needs a perfect performance to go through. They will be patient and know an early goal scored is not crucial but they can’t afford to concede first.

Guardiola usually tries to control these games with possession and tends to leave his dribblers on the bench. City are prone to late collapses so even a lead is not safe in the second half.

Key Stats

Real Madrid have lost just 1 of their last 17 home UCL matches

Real Madrid have drawn their last 2 home matches vs Man City (1-1 and 3-3)

Real Madrid’s Mbappe has scored 15 goals in his last 17 matches

Man City have lost their last 3 away matches in the Champions League

Man City have lost 3 of their last 7 matches in all competitions (14 goals conceded)

Man City’s Haaland has 26 goals in 29 UCL matches for City (2 goals in the first leg)

Verdict

This match should have goals to enjoy. A draw looks like great value with Madrid progressing.

Best Bet: Draw at 4.10
Anytime Goalscorer Bets: Haaland at 2.00 or Mbappe at 1.75 or both at 3.45