Real Madrid take on the visitors Manchester City in the first leg of UEFA Champions League round of 1/8-finals. The match will be played on Wednesday, March 11th at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu (Madrid).
Real Madrid reunited with Ancelotti — and won often and a lot under him. However, even the trophies they collected could not erase the aftertaste from the setbacks in the first half of 2025, with elimination from the previous Champions League by Arsenal and defeats to Barcelona in all Spanish competitions. Recently the team have looked less stable in big matches, sometimes struggling to maintain the same dominance that once defined them. At the same time, Real Madrid still remain extremely dangerous at home, where they usually manage to raise their level even during difficult stretches. But Carlo’s successor, former club midfielder Xabi Alonso, lasted only half a year, beginning with a defeat at the FIFA Club World Cup and ending with a lost Spanish Super Cup final against Real Madrid. Arbeloa has from the start been viewed as a temporary option until the summer, and in his debut match he was already knocked out of the Copa del Rey after a defeat to the very modest Albacete. In La Liga he also failed to take advantage of the chance to pull away from the Catalans, although he inherited a team that was already four points behind that rival. In the Champions League in February they did beat Benfica twice (albeit amid controversy), but before that they had lost to the same opponent in the final round of the main stage, 2–4, with a goal conceded to Trubin.
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Manchester City do not want to finish another year without a trophy. The Citizens also failed to win anything in 2025 — they came closest in the cup, but still managed to lose the final to Crystal Palace. Now they face a decisive match in another competition, the League Cup, where they will meet Arsenal. In recent weeks City have looked more confident in domestic matches, steadily collecting points and showing the kind of control that made them champions before. Even when games become tight, the Manchester side often manages to dictate the rhythm and push opponents onto the defensive for long periods. The main confrontation with Arteta, however, remains in the Premier League, where they have managed to revive the title race by taking advantage of their rival’s slip-ups. At the same time, in the Champions League they passed the main round at a solid level without extraordinary effort — not without mistakes, some of them quite painful — but eventually finishing in the top eight and, unlike their opponent, skipping the first playoff round.
The clubs meet incredibly often — every season since 2022. Last calendar year, in February, Los Blancos won both legs in the previous playoff round, but in December they lost at home in the main round, 1–2. Haaland and company are given a slight advantage even away from home. However, considering how these giants have played against each other before, the bet here is over 2.5 total goals.
Prediction for the match: Over 2.5 scored goals.
