Manchester City take on the visitors Real Madrid in the second leg of UEFA Champions League round of 1/8-finals. First leg result: 0-3. The match will be played on Tuesday, March 17th at Etihad Stadium (Manchester).
Manchester City are similar to their opponent in that after a period of confident dominance they suddenly failed last season. Back then they had to settle for only third place in the Premier League and also lost the domestic cup final, while in other tournaments they were eliminated even earlier. Recently Manchester City have looked much more stable in the league, steadily collecting points and putting pressure on the teams at the top of the table. Their results in recent rounds have also shown that the team has regained confidence and momentum compared to the difficulties earlier in the campaign. Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola calmly continued his work. And now he has managed to challenge Arsenal for the Premier League leadership — not long ago it seemed they were hopelessly far behind. The same Gunners will also face them in the League Cup final. Meanwhile, in the Champions League the English side, despite several slip-ups — including a January defeat to Bodø/Glimt — still managed to finish among the top eight teams. Starting the playoffs, however, at the Santiago Bernabéu they had no answer to a hat-trick from Valverde.
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Real Madrid are fighting simultaneously on two fronts. Los Blancos also failed last season — but Florentino Pérez did not show restraint and, effectively breaking his own word, parted ways with Carlo Ancelotti once again. His successor, Xabi Alonso, lasted only half a year, essentially starting with an early exit from the Club World Cup and being dismissed after losing to Barcelona in the Super Cup. Recently Real Madrid have been alternating strong performances with unexpected setbacks, which has kept the title race tense. At the same time, they continue to remain competitive in several competitions, trying to balance their ambitions in both domestic and European tournaments. The obvious caretaker, Álvaro Arbeloa, successfully debuted with a cup defeat to modest Albacete. In La Liga, after catching up with the Catalans following a couple of their slip-ups, the Galácticos immediately lost first place again due to a defeat to Osasuna. In the Champions League under him they also lost in the final group-stage round to Benfica 2–4, which forced them to start the playoffs already in February. However, there they met the Portuguese side again and took the opportunity to take revenge on Trubin and company, winning both matches (although with another scandal surrounding Vinícius Júnior).
Since 2022 the clubs have met in every Champions League campaign. Before this playoff tie the balance during that stretch had been equal — three wins for each giant in nine matches. A comeback by the English side is hard to believe in. But they still seem capable of at least winning this particular match.
Prediction for the match: Manchester City to win.
