Champions League: City vs Madrid preview

Real Madrid and Manchester City will face off in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals today at the Etihad at 3 p.m. ET. Inter Milan sealed their spot in the final on Tuesday with their victory over AC Milan, so now we wait to see which team will move on to face them in the final on June 10.

City vs Madrid - who is the favorite?

The first leg between City and Madrid ended in a 1-1 draw in a game that was quite evenly matched. Reigning champions Real Madrid are no strangers to this tournament, with 14 Champions League titles to their name. Something about this competition just works for Madrid historically.

It was at exactly this time last year that City was eliminated from the competition...by Real Madrid. They will surely be determined to pull off the win this time around after a heartbreaking end last season, which they lost on a 6-5 aggregate. If they fail to do so, it would be the first time that a team has been eliminated by the same opponent in the semifinals in consecutive Champions League campaigns.

It’s tough to beat history, but Manchester City’s team has looked unstoppable this season and now they’ll have home-field advantage. At home, City is 16-1-1 in league play with a 59-17 goal differential and have won 14 straight games at the Etihad in all competitions. Real Madrid, on the other hand, have lose their last two consecutive road games (to Girona and Real Sociedad).

“At home, we have the feeling that we feel free, relieved,” said City manager Pep Guardiola. “It doesn’t matter what happens - we go. That’s the feeling I have, and hopefully tomorrow we can have that feeling.”

City is currently on a 22-game undefeated streak (18-4-0) and have only lost one of their last five games against Real Madrid in the Champions League, all of which came under Guardiola.

“The reason they brought me here with my staff was to do the best as possible,” said Guardiola. “But of course, we can’t deny, we have won all the titles, except this one.”

Real Madrid are 3-2-1 in their last six games in all competitions and have won their last two away games against English teams in the Champions League knockout stages (both this season).

“For a club like Real Madrid, it’s quite a normal thing because we have played 11 out of the last 13 semifinals,” said Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti. “But in reality, it’s not that easy to achieve that.”

Opta has Manchester City as the favorites to advance to the final after today’s match, giving them a 69.6% chance while Madrid’s is at 30.4%. Something City has that they didn’t have last season is arguably the best striker in the world right now - Erling Haaland. Haaland has got 52 goals in 48 games in just his first season with City, contributing to 92 overall goals in 35 league games.

Along with Haaland, City can count on Kevin De Bruyne, who scored the equalizer against Madrid in the first leg and has 10 goals and 24 assists in 44 total games.