Eight days after playing out one of the best games in recent Champions League history, Real Madrid and Manchester City meet again with a ticket to the final up for grabs.
Bookmaker 10bet has the odds at 4.00 for Real to advance and at 1.25 for Man City to go through to the final for a second consecutive year. The odds are at 3.20 for the hosts to win in 90 minutes and at 2.15 for the visitors to do it.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 3rd, 5:30 P.M. (EST)
City completely blew Carlo Ancelotti’s side away at the start of the opening leg by grabbing a 2-0 lead and they held a two-goal lead three times in total, but there’s still plenty to play for in the return leg and Pep Guardiola’s men will be kicking themselves if they can’t complete the job in Madrid.
Winning at Santiago Bernabeu isn’t an easy task either. Chelsea managed to do it in the quarterfinals but Real have taken just three home losses all season. In fact, Los Blancos have won 15 of their 23 home matches across all competitions.
Ancelotti, who’s just become the first manager ever to win a title in all the five big European leagues, noted after last week’s defeat that home advantage will be vital in the return leg and he sounded pretty confident of his team’s chances.
To get through to the May 28 final, it’s almost certain that Real simply has to outscore Guardiola’s team. Despite not having an out-and-out striker, City have still notched 132 goals in 53 games this season and six different players are in double figures in goals. There always seems to be somebody who pops up with a big goal.
Can Karim Benzema do the business once again? The French veteran is having an amazing season and plays like a man from another planet. Some of his finishes have certainly looked out of this world.
Sitting on 14 goals, Benzema has gotten very close to breaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most goals scored in a single Champions League season, which the Portuguese ace set in 2013-14 with 17 goals.
City have conceded just once in their last nine away outings, which will fill the side with confidence, but everything Benzema touches seems to be turning into gold this season and Wednesday’s game might just eclipse the meeting at the Etihad if Real’s No. 9 can produce some magic again.
