By: Jean Lootcheby Clysto

After an absolutely sumptuous first leg (3-3), Manchester City and Real Madrid meet this Wednesday evening in the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League at the Etihad Stadium. Between the two giants of the Old Continent, the duel promises to be merciless and undoubtedly spectacular. Here is our prediction for this poster between the Skyblues and the Merengues.

After conceding a draw at home in the first leg (3-3), Real Madrid travels to Manchester City this Wednesday evening. Of these two contenders for victory, only one will go to the semi-final of the Coupe aux Grandes Oreilles. The result of the first leg allows each of the two teams to seriously believe in their chances of qualifying. Manchester City will, however, have the advantage of being on their home turf. Over the past few years, the Skyblues have turned the Etihad into an almost impregnable fortress. As proof, Guardiola’s men have not lost once this season at home, whether in the Premier League (17 matches, 12 wins and 5 draws) or in the Champions League (4 wins in 4 matches). In C1, Manchester City’s last defeat at home actually dates back to September 19, 2018. That day, Olympique Lyonnais came to create a surprise in the West of England (1-2). Since this misstep against the Ligue 1 side, City have played 30 Champions League matches at the Etihad Stadium for a very impressive record of 28 wins and two draws (97 goals scored and 23 conceded). In this context, we believe that Manchester City will not lose in front of their supporters, even if this meeting remains open and undecided.

Deprived of the first leg due to vomiting and stomach aches, Kévin de Bruyne should make his return this Wednesday evening in Pep Guardiola’s starting lineup. At 32, the Belgian remains one of the centerpieces of the Catalan coach’s winning machine. This season, the former Wolfsburg player has played only 17 matches with Manchester City (all competitions) due to a serious injury contracted during the summer of 2023. Despite this rather reduced playing time, KDB displays impressive statistics (4 goals scored and 14 assists delivered in 1018 minutes of play, or one decisive action every 56 minutes of play. Real Madrid is also an opponent who has been very successful against the former Red Devil in eight confrontations against the Merengues. , Kévin de Bruyne scored three goals and made four assists.

In a first leg match where Erling Haaland really didn’t shine, it was Phil Foden who brought the light for Manchester City. Author of a superb strike into the top corner of Andriy Lunin, the Briton allowed his team to come back to the score after a very complicated first half. This season, the Three Lions international has undeniably taken on a new dimension. As proof, the Stockport native has scored 22 goals and provided 10 assists (in all competitions). In the Champions League, the young Skublues winger displays even more impressive statistics (five goals scored and three assists provided, all in 563 minutes of play, or one decisive action every 70 minutes).

Manchester City

If Manchester City still has its destiny in hand and will benefit from the advantage of playing on its lawn, the Citizens are still far from having their ticket in their pocket for the rest of the competition. On the pitch of the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the reigning English Champions were indeed shaken by very aggressive Madrilenians. Faced with the constant pressing of the Merengues, the Skyblues, although renowned for their technical mastery, sometimes seemed totally lost and overwhelmed. Also on the defensive front, the Mancunian team was far from flawless. These defensive problems are also constant this season for Manchester City. While the Skyblues had conceded 33 goals over the entire 2022-2023 financial year, Manchester City has conceded 32 goals this season, all in just 33 matches, or almost one goal conceded per PL match.

For City, the other black point of the first leg was the performance of Erling Haaland. The Norwegian Cyborg indeed delivered a rather disappointing and incomplete performance (only 20 balls touched, no successful dribbles, only one shot on target). Very well taken by Antonio Rüdiger, the former Dortmund star had all the difficulty in the world to prove dangerous in the Madrid area. This Wednesday evening, City’s serial scorer will therefore be expected around the corner.

Real Madrid

Yet designated as the outsider of this quarter-final against the ogre of Manchester City, Real Madrid is still alive after the first leg. In front of its audience, the Castille club once again proved that it knew how to sublimate itself during its Champions League evenings. While Bernardo Silva’s very quick opening score could have collapsed Casa Blanca. It ultimately only took a few minutes for the Liga resident to completely reverse the situation and take the lead. It was then Manchester City who seemed to come out of their match before Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol came to sound the revolt. But again, more was needed to bring Real Madrid down. Fede Valverde indeed came to equalize in the most beautiful way.

If Manchester City certainly has the weapons to keep Real Madrid out of its way, the Madrid club has that unique extra soul during these Champions League evenings, that DNA of the winner that no one can bring down, even the title holder .