Man City is still in crisis and facing the risk of being eliminated from the Champions Leauge group stage. They only won 3 out of 8 matches in the group stage, hard to reach the top 24.
In the domestic arena, after the 1-5 defeat in the Premier League against Arsenal, the army of coach Pep Guardiola also struggled to win the third-class Leyton Orient at the FA Cup.
However, looking at the general achievement, Man City is not too bad. They had 7 victories in the last 10 matches, scoring in 13 consecutive matches. Moreover, The Citizens remained unbeaten at Etihad in 2025, defeating Chelsea, Club Brugge, Salford City and West Ham, scoring at least 3 goals per game.
On the other side, Real Madrid is also showing weakness in the European arena. They are only one point inferior to the top 8, but not winning tickets directly into the round of 16 still disappointed fans.
Real's biggest weakness is the patchy defense due to injury pillars. In contrast, City's attack is gradually finding the usual form. The home team was forced to win at Etihad before the difficult operation to the Bernabeu.
Expected squad
Man City: Ederson; Nunes, Akanji, Dias, GVardiol; Silva, Kovacic; Foden, De Bruyne, Savinho; Haaland
Real Madrid: Courtois; Valverde, Tchouameni, Asencio, Mendy; Camavinga, Modric; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius Junior; Mbappe
