UEFA Champions League: Real Madrid vs. Manchester City

In a rematch of the 2022 semifinals, Manchester City travels to Real Madrid looking for revenge in the same stage of this year’s competition. However, history is not on their side. The Cityzens have only won once before when visiting the daunting Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid Moneyline (+210) | Draw (+250) | Man City Moneyline (+120)

Total Goals: Over 2.5 (-140) | Under 2.5 (+116)

Real Madrid are the kings of the Champions League. They have won the competition a record 14 times and have reached the semifinal in eight of the last ten years. In that time, they won five championships, including last year’s Final in Paris.

Los Blancos punched their ticket to this year’s semis by thumping Chelsea F.C. 4-0 over two legs. The team plowed through Liverpool the round before and has only lost three home matches in 2023.

Man City, on the other hand, are in their best form of the season. They have won ten matches in a row and have fought back to be favorites to win the English Premier League (-950). The team breezed past Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals by winning 4-1 on aggregate.

This is just the fourth time City has appeared in the semifinals of the Champions League, but they have reached this stage in three straight years. They have never won the competition before.

Madrid is in fine form, winning the Copa Del Rey over the weekend. Karim Benzema has been a standout, scoring three hat tricks over the last 30 days. He has four goals in four CL knockout games this season. Unfortunately for Los Blancos, they will be missing Eder Militao due to suspension, while Ferland Mendy is still struggling with an injury.

Pep Guardiola’s City are also firing on all cylinders and are considered the best team in Europe. They are hunting for the coveted treble this season and are undefeated in 20 straight matches. Erling Haaland has been a standout (51 goals in 46 matches). The Norwegian averages a goal every 58 minutes in the CL — the best ratio in the competition’s history.

City heads to Madrid completely healthy. Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, and Nathan Ake are all set to start after resting over the past few matches.

Manchester City ML (+120): This bet has been a lock for months. With ten wins in a row, they are worth betting on at, plus money any day of the week. During their streak, the team has scored 29 goals while only allowing seven. I expect a cakewalk for the Sky Blues against a weakened Madrid side that the Cityzens are itching to exact revenge on.

Vinicius Jr. 2+ SOG (+185): Vinicius Jr. is Mr. Consistency for Real Madrid. He averages over three shots per game in the Champions League and just over two in La Liga. At home, he has only gotten less than two shots twice this season, and Madrid averages 20 shots at home. Man City is prone to counterattacks, so Vinicius will have plenty of opportunities to shoot.