2020 has been a dramatic year for Manchester City fans so far. With the UEFA ban looming overhead, there’s pressure on the first team to pull out all the stops, and really make their upcoming games count. Of course, the most dramatic of these has to be the round of 16 clash with Real Madrid on February 26th.
With all the ban talk and drama surrounding the City camp in recent weeks, betting on Premier League matches for the squad seems to have skyrocketed. International crunches, too, are picking up similar interest. If City is going to have sit UEFA out for two years, they had better make this Champions League run their best-ever.
What Can We Expect?
The upcoming clash between Man City and Real Madrid is one that’s hotly anticipated. Naturally, the squads have locked horns several times before. However, the last few time they’ve met in the competition, it was much later in play.
2015/2016’s League saw the teams go head-to-head in the semi-finals, which – as City fans will remember – ended in heartbreak in the second leg. Sadly, City’s away record against Madrid isn’t fantastic. They’ve lost both away matches played against the squad in the Champions League, and have only drawn their two home games in the competition.
For that reason, your average punter would likely say that the odds are stacked against City. However, given recent furore, fans are hoping that they will come out with all guns blazing. This is a great chance to upset the history books and to put a firm mark on a win in the League.
The Road to February 26th
As readers will know, the road leading up to the Madrid clash has been fraught with plenty of chaos. That’s not just from the City side of things, either. Gareth Bale has recently been sent home thanks to a nasty bout of gastroenteritis, meaning he could well miss the crunch match for Madrid’s first team.
Both Bale and Luka Jovic were sent home from Real Madrid’s training recently thanks to the bug. It’s as a result of Zinedine Zidane wanting to keep his best players as healthy as possible for the historic tie.
Whether or not Bale and Jovic will be back in time for the match remains to be seen, but punters feel they will. That means City fans are keeping on their toes, with bated breath. Naturally, it means City’s first squad is going to need to be first-rate regardless of who’s on the pitch.
The General Feeling
Real Madrid’s track record at this stage of the competition is formidable. Adding to City’s own record against Los Blancos in the Champions League, it’s clear why some of the odds are starting to pile up. City legend Yaya Toure, now at Qingdao Huanghai, weighed in on the fixture with trepidation.
“I’m a little scared, to be honest,” the striker commented to press. “I wanted City to get Lyon or some club like that, but Real Madrid is going to be a tough game, a very, very tough game.”
“Real Madrid could knock us straight out. They could; they really could, because we expect Real Madrid to be in the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and now they face City.”
Toure isn’t wrong to feel wary about the clash. The February match is weighing heavily on the team, inarguably desperate to clinch any glory they can amid the UEFA fallout.
A Match to Remember
Odds for City beating Los Blancos aren’t particularly pleasing but remember that anything can happen. Punters taking advantage of in-play bets late on might get the chance to monopolise on a major upset. It’s an upset, at least, based on records.
Real Madrid is a powerhouse in this competition. So is City – our international decorations are well-known. However, with the first of the two legs coming up at the Bernabeu on the 26th, there’s a race against time for the first team to get their heads in the game.
Playing away first could have its advantages. It may give City a chance to take stock of what they’re up against. While their away record against Madrid is hardly enlightening, it makes sense to use this first leg as a recon tour of sorts.
Then, fans might just get a return tour of glory at the Etihad mid-March. It’s all speculation, of course, but one thing is for sure. This is going to be a match that City will remember for many, many years to come.
