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Our Real Madrid vs Man City prediction for Tuesday night’s blockbuster Champions League quarter-final first-leg is one of the toughest games to call.
Next week’s mammoth knockout showdown will see two of Europe’s biggest powerhouses go head-to-head for the chance to reach the competition’s semi-final stage.
The tie’s first leg will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid with Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens the narrow favourites to take command of the fixture before heading back to Manchester for the reverse leg on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
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Real Madrid team news
David Alaba (cruciate ligament injury) and Thibaut Courtois (knee) are both ruled out. Still, Carlo Ancelotti has everyone else available, including English midfielder Jude Bellingham, who will be looking to remind teams from the Premier League what they’re missing out on.
Considering their relatively unaffected squad, we expect Madrid to name almost an identical starting lineup to the one that edged their way past RB Leipzig in the Round of Last 16.
Possible XI: Andriy Lunin, Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho, Ferland Mendy, Toni Kroos, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, Vini Junior.
Man City team news
Nathan Ake (calf) and Kyle Walker (hamstring) are both ruled out for Tuesday’s game.
John Stones and Ederson are both primed to feature though after the pair made their manager’s matchday squad to face Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Possible XI: Ederson, Rico Lewis, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, Erling Haaland.
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H2H: Cityzens unbeaten in last two meetings
Tuesday night’s matchup will be just the 11th time these two giants have faced each other; all of which have come in Europe.
And surprisingly, despite Real Madrid boasting 14 Champions League titles, it is Man City who have the better head-to-head record.
Winning four, drawing three and losing three, including a 1-1 draw and 4-0 thumping last season, Guardiola’s defending champions will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run over Ancelotti’s Los Blancos when the two sides meet in Madrid on Tuesday.
Real Madrid vs Man City prediction
This one is finely poised.
Although City have the superior recent record, as well as last season’s trophy to show for it, you can never count Real Madrid out, especially in Europe and especially at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Unbeaten in their last 13 games in all competitions, Madrid will be expected to put in another good performance but doing so against City is easier said than done.
For the away side, who are trying to keep pace in a tense three-way Premier League title race, as well as preparing for an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea, Tuesday night’s blockbuster will be one of their biggest challenges of the season.
Although this one could easily go either way, we’re going to play it safe and back the draw.
Prediction: Draw.
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Kick-off time and TV channel:
Fans in the UK will be able to tune into TNT Sports from 7:00 p.m. for all the coverage of Real Madrid vs Man City with kick-off scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
The network’s coverage on both TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate will include all the pre-match build-up, the post-match analysis and interviews, and of course, the game itself.
For those wanting to stream the match, the action will also be available via the Discovery+ app with coverage starting at the same time.
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