Real Madrid and Manchester City will meet this Tuesday in what will be a star-studded and competitive match between two of the best teams in world. It will be the first leg of their semi-final matchup at Real Madrid’s home Santiago Bernabeu. Real comes into this event following a win in the Copa Del Rey finals and is notorious for strong showings in the Champions League, while City has been playing in their top form as of late and is clicking on all cylinders with a chance at both their league and European title heading down the final stretch of the season. We can say without any doubt that this will be a great semi-final matchup featuring two of the favorites to win the 2023 edition of the UEFA Champions League.
Game Info
Date: Tuesday, May 9th, 2023
Time: 21:00 Local Time (CEST)
Location: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
TV: BT Sport
Betting Info
Real Madrid: 3.10, +210
Draw: 3.75, +275
Manchester City: 2.10, +110
Over 2.5 Goals: 1.66, -152
Under 2.5 Goals: 2.20, +120
Real Madrid Preview
Real Madrid is coming off a victory over Osasuna in the Spanish Cup finals, 2-1, clinching the first trophy of the year and boosting their morale ahead of one of the most important games of the year. Brazilian winger Rodrygo scored in the in the Copa Del Rey final, sharpening his form before another clash with the Citizens whom he shocked last year in the semis with two late goals, which eventually led Real to the finals. He was outstanding against Osasuna and will look to have another impressive outing to shock Man City en route to a UCL final once again.
Real Madrid will be forced to work around the absence of Militao for the first leg due to suspension; the centre-back was carded for the third time in this season’s tournament during the second leg of the quarter-finals, after which players on one or two bookings had their yellow cards wiped. Left-back Ferland Mendy is also struggling to recover from a calf problem and is expected to be out of the lineup as well, but luckily for Los Blancos, star midfielder Luka Modric managed to play a part as a substitute in the Copa del Rey final after shaking off a hamstring concern, and the 37-year-old should be given the green light to start on Tuesday – music to the ears of manager Carlo Ancelotti and the Bernabeu faithful.
Aurelien Tchouameni could be the unlucky fulcrum to make way for Modric, but his impressive play of late could grant him some minutes off the bench, while Antonio Rudiger will join forces with David Alaba at the back in place of Militao. Meanwhile, Eduardo Camavinga, who can now proudly claim to have won every major trophy with Real Madrid at the tender age of 20, should continue in his makeshift left-back role. Their dynamic attacking trio of the current Ballon D’or holder Benzema, Vinicius Jr., and Rodrygo should be in full force, especially in front of their home crowd, as Benzema and the boys are very efficient at Bernabeu, hitting the back of the rival’s net at least twice in six of their last seven home games. But it will be their back line that will have the biggest challenge in fending off the illustrious City attack led by prolific striker Erling Haaland.
Man City Preview
One of the most in-form and dangerous teams in all of Europe right now, Manchester City hasn’t lost for the past 21 straight games, triumphing in 18 of them with 10 clean sheets and posting only three draws. Haaland has been on a mission, as he’s hit the back of the net 12 times and added one assist during this Champions League run. The Norwegian striker has been dominant in the Champions League throughout his entire career, scoring 35 goals in just 27 UCL matches, averaging a goal every 58 minutes which is unsurprisingly the best ratio in the history of the competition. City will certainly rely on him for another impressive performance to out score Real Madrid’s opportunistic attack.
Man City has scored at least twice in 11 of their last 12 matches, but on the other side of the pitch, they’ve conceded in five of their most recent seven games. Although the defense has been a bit shaky, their offense has been so dominant that their inconsistent backline hasn’t costed them. They may not have the luxury of escaping with a win with a sub-par defensive outing against the talented front line of Real, especially after losing their versatile defender Nathan Ake to an apparent hamstring issue with 54 minutes gone against Leeds in their most recent match. It is unclear when he will be able to return, so the club will be anxiously awaiting updates on the Dutchman’s condition heading into Tuesday’s matchup.
Manager Pep Guardiola will be tempted to recall Kyle Walker to try to keep the skilled opposing winger Vinicius Junior at bay, while a host of well-rested regulars in Rodri, John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish are also primed to return to the first 11 after Pep rang up some changes on the weekend to keep them fresh. World class midfielder Kevin De Bruyne got to shake off the rust in their last match against Leeds after missing a few games due to injury and will need to be in his top form as he battles against an equally skilled opposing midfield unit. Despite his brief absence, De Bruyne has been playing in his top form as of late and has an impressive 16 assists in 30 matches on the year.
Matchup Preview
Reigning UCL champions Real Madrid put four unanswered goals past Chelsea over the two legs of their quarter-final to reach the last four, while the perennial hopefuls Man City put up an impressive 4-1 aggregate performance to knock out Bayern Munich and advance to the semis.
Despite Man City’s dominance as of late, one thing to know about Real Madrid is that they should never be written off in Europe. A rematch of last year’s drama filled Semi-final matchup, City will be hungry for revenge, but Real Madrid has a knack for squeaking out victories in unconventional fashion in the UCL. Last year in the same position, Man City experienced a shock defeat to Real Madrid after winning 4-3 at home in the first leg and leading throughout the first 90 minutes in Bernabeu in the second leg before Los Blancos’ winger Rodrygo scored twice in the stoppage time to level the score on aggregate. Later on in the additional 30 minutes, striker and captain Karim Benzema added one more goal, knocking out the Citizens who already had their sights on the finals.
The pedigree of these clubs is unmatched, but the skill level is equal. The Whites have 16 Champions League Semi-Final appearances and now have reached the final four in 11 of the past 13 seasons. Meanwhile, the Sky Blues have reached the UCL semi-final only 3 times in their club’s existence. Nevertheless, Man City are the favorites to win it all this year, as they have looked like the best team in the world as of late and certainly have some tactical advantages over Real in this matchup. Man City, and Haaland especially, will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing a Militao-less backline, especially given Los Blancos’ recent failures at keeping the back door shut domestically.
With both clubs sporting elite midfield units, this could be end up as a possession game with both teams keeping the ball in their feet, thus dictating the tempo and the rhythm of play. But it is worth noting that the respectable defenses aren’t playing their best football right now. The same can’t be said for the offenses, with Haaland and De Bruyne on one end and Vinicius Jr., Benzema, Rodrygo on the other side, the goal scoring ability that will be on the pitch will make for an exciting offensive matchup.
A first leg that could easily swing either way should no doubt live up the billing, and it is expected that the two juggernauts will play out an entertaining duel. If Pep’s club can leave Spain with at least a draw, they should be in prime position to return home and claim victory in the second leg at the Etihad on May 17th.
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