Comments, predictions Man City vs Real Madrid: Painful defeat

The last two Champions League winners must now battle it out for the right to qualify for the last 16 of the 2024-25 edition, as Manchester City and Real Madrid clash in Tuesday's giant first leg at the Etihad.

While the reigning European champions were just one point short of a top eight finish, their hosts had to put up a fight on matchday eight just to avoid the embarrassment of an early exit.

Latest Man City vs Real Madrid squad information

Having endured nothing less than a disastrous debut, Man City's flashy new signing Nico Gonzalez was injured in the first half of Saturday's FA Cup win, shortly after being stripped of the ball ahead of Leyton Orient's bizarre opener.

Guardiola could not say how serious the Spaniard's problem was immediately after the game, but he now joins Oscar Bobb (foot), Nathan Ake (muscle), Jeremy Doku (unknown) and Ederson (unknown), while Rodri (ACL) remains sidelined for a long time.

Likely to be restored to the starting line-up after scoring the winner on Saturday, Kevin De Bruyne is chasing a piece of Champions League history; the Belgium international's next goal or assist against Real Madrid will be his ninth in the competition, more than any other player.

Meanwhile, Los Blancos arrive in Manchester amid a defensive crisis, as Lucas Vazquez has suffered a fresh hamstring injury and joins Antonio Rudiger (thigh), Dani Carvajal (knee), Eder Militao (knee) and David Alaba (muscle) still sidelined.

Several Blancos players are also walking the suspension rope, with Jude Bellingham, Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Endrick and Aurelien Tchouameni set to miss the return leg if they are booked at the Etihad, as is Ancelotti himself.

However, the Italian will have no such concerns to consider when he fielded his strongest XI at the Etihad, where Tchouameni will once again be forced into the emergency centre-back role with Raul Asencio coming in.

Latest expected lineup Man City vs Real Madrid

Manchester City:

Ederson; Nunes, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Silva, Kovacic; Foden, De Bruyne, Savinho; Haaland

Real Madrid:

Courtois; Valverde, Tchouameni, Asencio, Mendy; Camavinga, Modric; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius Junior; Mbappe

Latest Man City vs Real Madrid football review

In stark contrast to the all-conquering European side, who enjoyed a remarkable 22-match unbeaten run in the Champions League from September 2022 to April 2024, Pep Guardiola's crisis-hit champions face the realistic prospect of being eliminated in the first group stage.

Only two of City's first seven Champions League games this season have seen the 2022-23 winners prevail, and Belgian giants Club Brugge threatened to cause a shock all-rounder at the Etihad on the final day, but a 3-1 comeback win was enough to push City into the coveted top 24 spot.

However, since narrowly surviving in Europe, the Sky Blues have flattered to deceive again; following a 5-1 Premier League defeat at the hands of Arsenal, Guardiola's men only managed an unconvincing 2-1 FA Cup win away to third-tier Leyton Orient on Saturday.

However, the form book still makes for pleasant reading at face value for the Man City faithful, as the English champions' cup success marked their seventh win in their last 10 games and Guardiola's men have now found the net in 13 consecutive competitions.

Furthermore, the Citizens remain unbeaten at their Etihad headquarters in 2025 - beating Chelsea, Club Brugge, Salford City and West Ham United while scoring at least three goals on each occasion - and the hosts can now win five consecutive home games in all competitions for the first time since 2023.

Having also seen their prowess wane in Europe after winning a record 15th title at Wembley last year, Real Madrid's customary place in the knockout stages has been threatened by three defeats from their first five continental competitions of the campaign.

Carlo Ancelotti's seasoned rivals, however, brushed aside Atalanta BC, Red Bull Salzburg and Brest in their final three games of the tournament to finish just one point off the top eight, but failure to earn a direct ticket to the last 16 still represents a lack of effectiveness for the defending champions.

Since a 3-0 win over Brest in their last UCL outing, Real Madrid's domestic fortunes have been the dictionary definition of mixed; one win, one draw and one loss across the Copa del Rey and La Liga, where they controversially settled for a 1-1 stalemate with cross-city rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

A controversial Julian Alvarez penalty preceded a Kylian Mbappe strike in that Bernabeu battle, where Ancelotti's men admittedly were on top throughout the second half, but a combination of Jan Oblak's combination and their own wastefulness let them down.

However, that point was enough to keep Real Madrid at the top of La Liga ahead of Diego Simeone's side, and Los Blancos now prepare to face Man City in the Champions League for a fourth successive season, with fond memories of ending the Sky Blues' reign on penalties last season.

Latest Man City vs Real Madrid score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the following results for the Man City vs Real Madrid match:

• Sportsmole: Man City 2-2 Real Madrid

• WhoScore: Man City 1-2 Real Madrid
• Our prediction: Man City 2-2 Real Madrid

When and where to watch Man City vs Real Madrid live?

To watch live the Man City vs Real Madrid match in the Champions League taking place at 3:00 on February 12, viewers can watch on K+ Sport, K+PM or online sports channels. Wish you all have fun watching football.

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