Manchester City host Real Madrid in the Champions League on Friday aiming to book their place in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Bookmakers rate City as overwhelming favourites to make it through to the last eight, with Pep Guardiola’s side holding a 2-1 advantage heading into the second leg of the tie.
Most football blog sites and top pundits are tipping City to progress, although they would be well advised not to underestimate the threat posed by the newly-crowned La Liga champions.
Read on as we preview the big game and assess City’s chances of winning the Champions League for the first time in their history.
City in Pole Position to Progress
City produced a stunning late fightback in the first leg in Spain, with goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kevin de Bruyne securing a memorable 2-1 victory.
Isco had given Madrid the lead, but Guardiola’s team stepped things up thereafter and ran out deserving winners of the game.
Madrid’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals suffered another blow late in the match as Sergio Ramos was dismissed after bringing down Jesus.
It was the first time City had beaten Madrid in the Champions League and put them firmly in the driving seat for the return fixture at the Etihad Stadium.
Both Teams Missing Key Stars
Both City and Madrid will be without hugely influential players for the second leg and it is debatable which side is likely to be impacted the most.
Sergio Aguero is ruled out for City, with the Argentinian striker still recovering from the knee surgery he underwent during the latter part of June.
Benjamin Mendy and Claudio Bravo also miss out though suspension and injury respectively, but Guardiola has no other issues to contend with.
Ramos’ red card in the first meeting has ruled him out of the return leg for Madrid, while Marcelo is still struggling with an adductor injury.
Recent Form Favours Madrid
Each team has been in good form in their respective domestic competitions, although Madrid’s record of 10 successive wins in La Liga gives them a slight edge.
That run of results helped Zinedine Zidane’s side romp home in the title race, although Barcelona’s inconsistencies on the run-in certainly aided their cause.
City won eight out of 10 matches following the resumption of the Premier League to end the campaign 18 points behind Liverpool.
Their defeat against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final exposed their defensive deficiencies and they will need to be wary at the back against Madrid.
A Tough Route to the Final
A Wednesday workout 👌
🔵 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/Svh1B05Av8
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 5, 2020
If City do manage to see off Madrid’s challenge in the quarter-finals, the Champions League draw has handed them an tough passage to the final.
Their most likely opponents in the last eight are Juventus, with the Serie A champions strongly fancied to recover from a 1-0 deficit against Lyon.
A meeting with either Barca and Bayern Munich is on the cards in the semi-finals, further highlighting the size of the task City face.
Paris Saint-Germain or Atletico Madrid are fancied to make it through from the other half of the draw, but City would be favourites to win if they met either team in the final.
Prediction: City should have enough about them to defeat Madrid, although it would be foolish to totally write-off the Spanish club’s chances of staging a comeback.
Things wouldn’t get any easier thereafter, although the one-off nature of the rest of the competition may suit Guardiola’s side.
A wager on a City versus Atletico final at odds of 8/1 looks an interesting proposition and should
