Man City vs Real Madrid betting preview

Despite topping the Premier League table, Manchester City have found it tough in the Champions League this season and are on the brink of being knocked out of the competition if they fail to beat Real Madrid on Wednesday night. The hosts need a miracle to get out of the group stage, needing Borussia Dortmund to beat Ajax, followed by an Ajax victory over Real Madrid and a win themselves over Dortmund in the final round of matches to progress. Madrid would all but secure a place in the knockout stages with a win on Wednesday, despite having dropped four points to group leaders Dortmund. Choose free bets for this match.

Manchester City 2012/13 Champions League Results:

Manchester City 2-2 Ajax (Y. Toure, Aguero)
Ajax 3-1 Manchester City (Nasri)
Manchester City 1-1 Borussia Dortmund (Balotelli (Pen))
Real Madrid 3-2 Manchester City (Dzeko, Kolarov)

Man City come into this crucial match full of confidence having gone almost a month without defeat, beating Tottenham and Swansea either side of draws against West Ham and Ajax, topped off by a 5-0 thrashing of Aston Villa on Saturday, taking them top of the Premier League. Aguero and Tevez combined to score two goals apiece at the weekend and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they featured in the starting eleven on Wednesday night, leaving Dzeko and Balotelli on the sidelines once more.

In the Premier League, City have had no problems at the back, conceding just 10 goals in their 12 matches this season, including four clean sheets, but it has been a different story in Europe. Ajax managed to tear apart City’s defence in their last two encounters, scoring a total of five goals over the two games, whilst Real Madrid scored three themselves way back in September. At 10/3, William Hill are a good bet for over 4.5 goals to be scored in the match.

Real Madrid 2012/13 Champions League Results:

Real Madrid 2-2 Borussia Dortmund (Pepe, Ozil)
Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Real Madrid (Ronaldo)
Ajax 1-4 Real Madrid (Ronaldo (x3), Benzema)
Real Madrid 3-2 Manchester City (Marcelo, Benzema, Ronaldo)

Like their opponents, Madrid also netted five times on Saturday as they cruised to a 5-1 win over Athletic Bilbao. Despite having won their last five La Liga matches, scoring 18 goals in the process, they sit third in the table, five points behind Athletico Madrid and eight behind Barcelona. Jose Mourinho is under pressure to pull that deficit back, whilst also ensuring progression into the next round of the Champions League. They will look to achieve this by overcoming a fairly lacklustre away record this season, having lost games against Dortmund, Sevilla and Getafe all away from the Bernabeu.

In recent weeks Madrid have shared the work load with an incredible 16 different goal scorers in their last six games, proving they have a talent laden squad full of depth. Considering City’s inability to defend corners against Ajax, Pepe could be an unlikely scorer on Wednesday, having bagged himself a Champions League goal already in their draw with Dortmund. He is priced at 16/1 to score anytime with Coral.

Betting Summary

In the first meeting between these two sides Man City thought they had managed to pull off a stunning late victory, only to see Madrid pop up with two goals even later in the game to win 3-2. With both sides expected to fight for the win expect goals and twists once again. Boyle Sports are best priced on Man City and Real Madrid to win from behind, with City at 14/1 and Madrid at 10/1.

Having scored three goals between them in the last ten minutes in September, William Hill have a goal to be scored between the 81^st and 90^th minute at 6/5, made even more appealing by Madrid’s late equaliser against Dortmund two weeks ago.

The obvious battle going into this game is between the two strikers – Aguero and Ronaldo. It would be tough to bet against either of them scoring and, with a high scoring game likely, expect some chances for both strikers to grab a brace on Wednesday night. Aguero to score two or more goals is best priced with Sky Bet at 12/1 – Ronaldo seen more likely to bag himself multiple goals, best priced 5/1 with Coral. Blue Square have a special Aguero vs Ronaldo market for the game, allowing you to bet on which striker you think will score more. Aguero is at 4/1, Ronaldo 21/10 and the draw is 4/6.

Although Real Madrid are favourites to win due to Man City’s poor performances in the Champions League thus far, the hosts are in fine goal scoring form with a strong back line and play in front of a home crowd that will be expecting a good performance and, more importantly, a win. They are an excellent bet at 23/10 with William Hill.

Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Real Madrid – 28/1 with Bet Victor.

Article by Jack Teague

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