The Champions League semi-finals kick off on Tuesday with a mouth-watering tie as Real Madrid hosts Manchester City at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Real ended a three-game losing streak in the match-up a year ago. However, the hosts are considered underdogs for the clash as bookmaker William Hill has the odds at 2.25 for Real in the draw no bet market and at 1.60 for Man City.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 8th, 4:30 P.M. (EST)
Real enters the contest fresh from a Copa del Rey triumph. Rodrygo has been in very good form in 2023 and continued to impress with a brace in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Osasuna as Los Blancos won the Spanish Cup for the 20th time.
Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior have been the main offensive catalysts for Real in recent seasons, but they now have an extra threat in Rodrygo. The 22-year-old has tallied 16 goals and 11 assists this season across all competitions. 11 of his goal involvements have come since the calendar was flipped.
Rodrygo was also the one who scored two very late goals against City in Madrid last season, helping the team push the game into extra time where Benzema took care of the rest. Can he replicate his heroics on Tuesday?
In City, Carlo Ancelotti’s men face a red-hot team. The Premier League leaders have racked up 10 straight league victories and boast 15 wins from their last 16 outings in all competitions. City has a chance to win the treble this season and it should be a great motivating factor for Pep Guardiola’s side over the last few weeks of the campaign.
City and Guardiola made it into the 2021 Champions League final, but the Spaniard has suffered a whopping six semi-final defeats in his managerial career. Last year marked only the second time Guardiola made it into the final four with City. His team has under performed in Europe many times and Guardiola must make sure that the same won’t happen again in 2023.
Their form over the last couple of months has been very impressive but will it also help City to improve a disappointing run of away form in Europe? The team has won only three of their last 11 road games in the Champions League. A 3-0 triumph over struggling Sevilla marks City’s lone away success in five outings this season. Tuesday’s game isn’t a must-win spot for them, but it would certainly send out a clear message that City is ready to go all the way in the Champions League this season.
