- Man City vs Real Madrid will kick off at 11 PM.
- The first leg will be played at the Etihad Stadium.
Two of Europe’s heavyweights Manchester City and Real Madrid will fight for a ticket to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 in a blockbuster clash this Tuesday.
The two clubs failed to book a direct ticket to next round after finishing ninth and 22nd in the 36-team league phase that ended on January 29.
Defending champions Real Madrid secured a ninth-place position after collecting 15 points from eight fixtures.
The Carlo Ancelotti-coached side picked up five wins and suffered three defeats including a painful 3-1 defeat in the hands of Italian representative AC Milan in a thrilling clash staged at the Santiago Bernabéu. The rest of the defeats were inflicted on them by Lille and Liverpool.
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Real Madrid, who have clinched 15 Champions League titles in their rich history, will prepare for Tuesday’s game on the back of a 1-1 draw with their City rivals Atletico Madrid.
Los Blancos, as they are popularly known around the world, scored their goal through French forward Kylian Mbappe while former Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez was on the score sheet for Atletico Madrid.
The crucial point helped Real Madrid to remain at the top of Liga with 50 points, one ahead of Atletico Madrid.
As for Manchester City, they struggled a lot in the league phase and had to come from a goal behind in their final fixture to proceed to the play-offs. The Citizens amassed 11 points that helped them to end their campaign at position 22.
The side, which is also finding it hard to impress in the Premier League this season, only won 3 matches in Europe since the start of the 2024/2025 and lost a similar number of fixtures.
The Pep Guardiola army will be hoping their 2-1 win over Leyton Orient in an FA Cup fourth round match that was played over the weekend will inspire them to beat Real Madrid in the two-legged play-off and qualify for the next stage of the Champions League.
Here are the key facts you need to know ahead of the upcoming match. Click this link to place your bet on the game and remember you can get up to 1000% SportPesa bonus on your multi bet of up to 50 games.
What time does Man City vs Real Madrid start?
The game is expected to start at 11 PM East African Time (EAT) on Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium.
Man City vs Real Madrid Team News
The visitors will be without David Alaba (muscle), Dani Carvajal (knee), Lucas Vazquez (hamstring) and Eder Militao (knee).
Moreover, Antonio Rudiger, who won a Champions League title in 2021 with Chelsea, is also sidelined due to a thigh injury.
With Rudiger’s absence, Aurelian Tchouameni is expected to play as a center-back alongside Raul Asencio.
On the other hand, Manchester City will miss the services of the Belgian duo of Nathan Ake and Jeremy Doku, who are nursing injuries at the moment. Besides Ake and Doku, Ederson (unspecified), Rodri (ACL) and Oscar Bobb (leg) are also unavailable.
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Possible Starting Lineups
Manchester City: Ederson, Gvardiol, Akanji, Dias, Nunes, Kovacic, Silva, Foden, Marmoush, Savinho, Haaland
Real Madrid: Courtois, Mendy, Tchouameni, Asencio, Valverde, Camavinga, Bellingham, Modric, Rodrygo, Vinicius, Mbappe
Manchester City vs Real Madrid Head-to-head
Real Madrid and Manchester City have battled it out against each other four times in all competitions since 2023 with the English side picking up a single win. Three of those matches ended in a draw.
The most recent match between the two clubs that was played on April 17, 2024 at the Etihad Stadium ended 1-1.
Manchester City: 1
Draws: 3
Real Madrid: 0
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Manchester City vs Real Madrid Current Form (all competitions)
Manchester City: LWWLW
Real Madrid: WWLWD
Manchester City vs Real Madrid Prediction
Although Manchester City will have the home advantage, they are expected to struggle in this match because of the offensive talent that is available in the Real Madrid camp.
However, the hosts should not be ruled out of triumphing in the first leg because anything is possible in football.
Therefore, football fans should expect an entertaining match where Manchester City and Real Madrid will do everything to win.
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