A soccer player in a white jersey looks towards the camera during a match.

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Manchester City’s Season is at the Mercy of Real Madrid

Manchester City appears to be at the mercy of reigning champions, Real Madrid as they host the Spanish giants on Tuesday night in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League playoff round, which will determine qualification to the Round of 16.

City are enduring one of their worst seasons in years. They came dangerously close to an early exit during the final 45 minutes of the newly structured group stage, finishing 22nd out of 36 teams. Their only victories came against relatively weak sides: Slovakia’s Slovan Bratislava, the Czech Republic side Sparta Prague, and Belgium’s Club Brugge.

With their grip on the Premier League title slipping after four consecutive seasons of dominance, City’s only hope of saving their campaign is to progress in the Champions League. However, they must first overcome a formidable opponent boasting an attacking quartet of Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo, and Jude Bellingham.

City will benefit from their two new signings: Egyptian international Omar Marmoush and Uzbek midfielder Abdulkadir Khusanov. However, doubts remain over the availability of Spanish midfielder Nico González, who suffered an injury early in his FA Cup debut against Leyton Orient.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, are dealing with a defensive crisis, with Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, David Alaba, Antonio Rüdiger, and Lucas Vázquez all sidelined.

The reigning champions, who hold the record for the most Champions League titles, haven’t had a smooth campaign either. They lost three times in the league phase to Lille, AC Milan, and Liverpool, failing to secure a top-eight finish that would have granted them direct qualification to the Round of 16. As a result, they now face a challenging playoff tie against City.

Here are some key stats to help you predict the outcome and win with Betway:

This is only the fourth time in European Cup/Champions League history that two teams have faced each other in four consecutive seasons, following Deportivo La Coruña vs. Juventus (4), Chelsea vs. Liverpool (5), and Atlético Madrid vs. Real Madrid (4).
This will be the 13th encounter between Manchester City and Real Madrid in the Champions League (City won 4, drew 5, and lost 3).
Despite losing only three of their 12 encounters with Real Madrid in the competition, Manchester City have been eliminated by them more times than any other opponent in the Champions League knockout stages (3 times).
Real Madrid have knocked out English clubs from the Champions League knockout rounds on 13 occasions.
In each of the last four seasons, Real Madrid have eliminated at least one English club in the Champions League: 2020-2021 (Liverpool), 2021-2022 (Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool), 2022-2023 (Liverpool, Chelsea), 2023-2024 (Manchester City).
Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne has been involved in eight goals in eight Champions League games against Real Madrid (4 goals, 4 assists).
Erling Haaland has failed to score in all four of his Champions League appearances against Real Madrid (359 minutes played), attempting 13 shots without success.
Only Lionel Messi (9) and Karim Benzema (7) have been involved in more Champions League goals against Manchester City than Real Madrid duo Vinícius Júnior (2 goals, 3 assists) and Rodrygo (4 goals, 1 assist).

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