Real Madrid vs Manchester City Prediction: the White Won't Keep Intrigue Alive

The second leg of the 2024/25 Champions League last 32 is set for 23:00 on 19 February 2025 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, where Real Madrid will be hosting Manchester City. Check out Telecomasia's prediction and key stats for more details.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid is finding this round of the Spanish Primera tough. They're the reigning champions, but from the first rounds they've been chasing the leader, Barcelona. Then, the Whites took advantage of the Catalans' missteps, went to the top of the standings and even began to create a gap, but in the last three rounds, they lost to Espanyol 0:1 and also sealed a draw with Atlético and Osasuna 1:1 each. So, the fight for the championship has erupted with renewed vigour.

Real Madrid is an amazing team that can have the biggest problems, but all of them affect exclusively their performance on the home stage. As soon as Madrid go to a Champions League match, it's as if they forget about all their difficulties. They had a few hiccups at the start of the tournament, which is why they ended up in 11th place overall. But that was enough to get them into the last 32, where they totally turned it around.

In the first match of the last 32, Carlo Ancelotti's team went to play away with Man City, which in itself is a big test, and the Whites didn't have any experienced defenders in the squad, as David Alaba, Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vázquez, Eder Militao, and Antonio Rüdiger were injured. Despite these losses, Real Madrid came back twice in the match, and in the 92nd minute Jude Bellingham scored the winning goal, making it 3:2 to the Spaniards.

Manchester City

Man City is doing poorly this season. They've won the last four rounds of the EPL, which is a first for the English league, but they're now only in fourth place, 16 points behind Liverpool. Even if they were on top form for the next 13 rounds, it's looking unlikely that they'll catch up with the Merseysiders. To make matters worse, they've already been knocked out of the League Cup and only reached the last 16 of the FA Cup. They're also at risk of not even qualifying for the Champions League. They didn't even make the play-offs, and in the first seven rounds of the group stage they only got eight points, so they had to beat Brugge 3:1 in the final match. With 11 points, Man City finished 22nd in the overall standings, but they did make it to the last 32.

Then, in the knockout matches, the Englishmen were knocked out by the current winner of the Champions League. It looked like the lineup problems of Real might help the visitors to achieve success, as they even went ahead twice thanks to a double by Erling Haaland. But the advantage didn't hold and they lost 2:3. Now at the Santiago Bernabeu, it's all about playing for victory, but it's going to be really tough to pull off.

H2H Meetings

Real Madrid and Manchester City have played each other 15 times. Real Madrid has won five times, Manchester City have won five times, and there have been five draws. The last time they played each other was a week ago, when Carlo Ancelotti's team won 3:2 in the first leg of the Champions League last 32.

Stats Betting

• Real Madrid has won six of their last nine home matches.
• In nine of the last ten H2H meetings, there was a draw.
• Eight of the last ten meetings between Real Madrid and Man City ended with the total over.
• Real scored at least two goals in six of the last seven home matches.
• Manchester City have scored at least two goals in five of their last six away matches.

Bookmakers' Offers

So, the analysts at 1xbet think Real Madrid is the ones to watch in this match. If you back Madrid to win, you can get odds of 1.946. If you think Man City have got what it takes, you can get 3.54, and if you're feeling more cautious, you can get 4.455 for a draw. And if you're feeling really confident, you can get 1.195 for Carlo Ancelotti's team to qualify for the next round of the Champions League. You can bet on the English team to win the final for 4.65, and the bookie thinks the match between Real Madrid and Man City will be a good one, with more than 2.5 goals to be scored at odds of 1.30 and less than 2.5 goals at 3.28.

Expert Betting Tips

Real Madrid took the lead against Man City, snatching a 3:2 victory in the very end of the first game, and now Madrid will host the Citizens at the Santiago Bernabeu. The favorites are back and they're the best again, even though they've had to deal with a lot of injuries. Lucas Vázquez, David Alaba, and Antonio Rüdiger should be back in the squad for the home match, which will be a big help for the Spanish defense, who have been really struggling recently. The City have failed nine of their last 14 away games, so the odds are now in Real Madrid's favour.

Real Madrid and Manchester City started off by impressing us with some spectacular and effective football from the first match of the Champions League round of 16, but they could have been more careful. After all, the price of any mistake is too high. Now, the situation is different. Josep Guardiola's team have to take risks and get back into the game, and Madrid will definitely not be sitting back in defense at home. It's looking like it'll be another nail-biter of a match.

Our picks: 

W1 for 1.90

TO (3.5) for 1.77

Vinícius to Score for 2.07