Real Madrid – Manchester City

Real are capable of drawing an even match with Manchester City

In the centre quarter-final in the Champions League, Real Madrid will take on Manchester City at home. These are the two main favourites for the tournament up to this stage. The teams meet in the Champions League for the third consecutive year. Real have almost secured their victory in La Liga. Carlo Ancelotti's team is having an unstoppable season, with several historic records already broken. The club has suffered only one defeat in La Liga. Injuries have not derailed Real's winning rhythm. In recent meetings, there is no hint of crisis: Madrid won three matches in a row with a total score of 10:2. It is important that no new injured players have been added. All the key performers in the attacking line have returned to action. In the match against Atletico, even Eder Militao took the field. The Brazilian has not played since August. The important defender is unlikely to be used in the first match against Manchester City. At the moment, only Thibaut Courtois is missing from the key players, but the Belgian was successfully replaced by Andriy Lunin. Manchester City still claims to repeat the treble. "Citizens" at the moment in the leading group in the APL and have already reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup. At the same time, there is a very important negative symptom - the collective does not beat direct competitors in the APL. Last season City dominated at this stage of the season. That is now nowhere near the case. Manchester City does not have a single win over Arsenal, Liverpool or Tottenham in the APL so far. Another disadvantage is the state of Erling Holand. The Norwegian remains the top scorer in the English league with nineteen goals, but the former confidence is gone. Holand has only three goals over a distance of eight games. Very modest figures for a standard striker's statistics. At the same time, City have other heroes flourishing right now. In particular, Phil Foden has stood out in almost every match. The midfielder netted a hat-trick against Aston Villa last week. It was Foden who became a key performer and leader of the club. Jack Grealish has gradually added after the slump. Last season, the rivals played in the semi-finals exactly in Madrid equal match. Real was not inferior in the quality of the game to the "citizens". Manchester City dominated the home game. Now Real has become much stronger. The attack of the "cream" is in great shape. Apart from Vinicius, Rodrigo is having a magnificent season. Bellingham will add power in the centre of the pitch. It is fair to consider Manchester City as favourites in the two-match format, but surprises are possible in Madrid. It is logical to assume that Real will have plenty of chances against the high defence of Guardiola's team.