Just the fact that Manchester City is still in the Champions League in the semifinals is a huge accomplishment, but no one is giving it much of a chance of reaching the finale. Real Madrid is a -320 favorite to win this two-legged tie, and one would like to think if the Citizens have any chance whatsoever, they'll have to win this first leg in Manchester on Tuesday night.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Manchester City +190
Real Madrid +135
Draw +250
Over/Under 2.5 (over -140)
ODDS ANALYSIS
It isn't a prerequisite for Real Madrid to win this match, but one would think if the Galacticos did, they'd be on their way to the finale. They're +135 on the moneyline on English soil against a team which isn't used to being a dog at home. Manchester City is only just behind at +190, and though the draw is the least likely of the three options at +250, no one can doubt the possibility that these two could head back to Bernabeu on level terms.
The total reflects a game which could be higher scoring than your average first leg of a Champions League affair. The over/under is set at 2.5 and -140 vig on the over.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Real Madrid struggled a lot more than perhaps it should have against Wolfsburg in the quarterfinal stage. Los Blancos lost on the road 2-0 in the most shocking result in the UCL to date for our money, but they overturned the result with a 3-0 win back at home, a display of brute force on their behalf against an overwhelmed and undermanned team.
The 3-2 aggregate win for Real came on the heels of a 4-0 romp over the two legs over AS Roma.
Manchester City played in one of the best matches in the Champions League in the first leg at Paris Saint-Germain. The 2-2 drew set the stage for a 1-0 victory for the Citizens back at home, and that pushed them into the semifinals.
City had a relatively easy draw in the Round of 16 against Dynamo Kiev, an affair which was over with after a 3-1 win in Ukraine.
LIVE BETTING
How is Manchester City going to slow down Cristiano Ronaldo? That's the biggest question that everyone in the world has right now. CR7 has a whopping 16 goals already in this competition to lead the way. No one on Manchester City has even five goals over the course of the entire matchup, and we're just not sure it's got the offense to keep up with the inevitable onslaught which is going to come from one of the best players in the world assuming that he's back in the fold after missing Saturday's win over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.
QUICK PICK
If there's one thing we do like about Manchester City, it's that it has been in awesome form of late. Sure, the team punted a game against Newcastle in a 1-1 draw, but the Magpies have been in better form than their relegation status suggests. Aside from that, City has downed Stoke City 4-0, Chelsea 3-0 and PSG 1-0 in its last three matches.
However, we still don't see it here. Real Madrid learned its lesson from its dud of a match at Wolfsburg, and assuming CR7 is alright to give it a go, it has the better team on the pitch by a wide margin.
Not only do we think Los Galacticos are going to come up with a win in England. We think they're going to remove any doubt of their place at the San Siro in May.
Champions League Odds: Real Madrid 3, Manchester City 1
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