Manchester City vs Real Madrid Prediction: Haaland and Mbappe are both bet worthy

Amazon Prime Video will be the place to watch the biggest game of this round of matches as Real Madrid take the trip over to the Etihad to face Manchester City. Kick-off is set for 20:00.

Our La Liga Betting Expert previews this one and thinks that both big name strikers could be bet worthy in this one. Check out his full match preview below along with his Manchester City vs Real Madrid Predictions...

*You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com

Manchester City and Real Madrid meet in the Champions League for the fourth season in a row, with the first leg of their play-off tie at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night. 

These clubs have been the dominant forces in the competition over the past three years. City haven't been knocked out of the Champions League by a club other than Real Madrid since their 2021 final defeat to Chelsea. You also have to go back to 2021, and a defeat to Chelsea, for Real Madrid's last European exit at the hands of anyone other than Pep Guardiola's side. 

Familiar foes they may be, but this is a fixture that neither club would have wanted at this early stage in the competition. It has come about, largely as a result of the English club's miserable league stage campaign which saw them limp to a 22nd place finish. They'd have been eliminated altogether, were it not for a 3-1 comeback win against Club Brugge on the final matchday. 

Real Madrid didn't fare a whole lot better. Defeats against Lille, Liverpool and AC Milan left them in a position of some peril, but as they so often do in this competition, Los Blancos found a way through, with victories in their final three matches seeing them rise to 11th in the standings. 

Man City are out for revenge after their penalty shootout exit against the Spanish club at the quarter-final stage of last season. However, it's fair to say that they look in considerably weaker shape now, than was the case heading into that tie. 

Nine defeats in all competitions, in the space of 12 games towards the end of 2024, showcased a vulnerability to City that threatened to derail their entire season. While things have picked up a bit since the turn of the year, with victories in six of their nine matches so far in 2025, those cracks have still been very evident at times. 

PSG rattled in four second-half goals to defeat the English champions in January. Arsenal did likewise only the weekend before last, while even third-tier Leyton Orient gave them a scare in the FA Cup on Saturday. 

The positive news from a Mancunian perspective, is that many of the criticisms labelled at City, can also be applied to Real Madrid. 

Los Blancos have been defeated on seven occasions in all competitions since the start of October, having only lost once inside 90 minutes in all of last season. That has inevitably led to questions about whether summer signing Kylian Mbappé has upset the balance of this team. 

On current evidence, the answer is most likely a yes, but it's the other end of the pitch that will be giving Carlo Ancelotti the most sleepless nights right now. Injuries to five of his defenders, combined with the club's stubborn refusal to sign one in January, leaves the Italian very short on options at the back heading into this tie. 

It's the second huge game in the space of four days for the defending European champions. It was the Madrid derby on Saturday, and a meeting of La Liga's top two. A very watchable encounter, saw Atlético strike first via ex-City striker Julián Alvarez's panenka penalty, but Real were much improved after the break, and good value for at least the point they earned via a close-range finish from Mbappé. 

They managed to cope relatively well with a slightly makeshift defence in that game, but they'll be expecting a busier night against a Man City side that had 33 shots across the 120 minutes when the teams last met in this stadium in April. 

Team News: 

Man City should be the fresher side, given Guardiola was able to rest a number of his key players in East London at the weekend. However, their preparations for this game are hampered by a number of injury concerns, and the home boss may leave it as late as possible before deciding on his starting lineup. 

New signing Nico González picked up an injury in the cup match, and he's a doubt heading into this. That's also the case with Ederson, Oscar Bobb, Nathan Aké and Jérémy Doku, while Rodri is definitely out again as he continues his recovery from an ACL injury. 

As for Real Madrid, their defensive situation has developed into a full-blown crisis over the past week, with Antonio Rüdiger and Lucas Vázquez the latest players to pick up injuries that will rule them out of the first leg at least. Fellow defenders Dani Carvajal, David Alaba and Éder Militão were already sidelined. 

The Vázquez injury means Fede Valverde will most likely start at right-back in this game. Meanwhile, youngster Raúl Asencio is expected to partner Aurélien Tchouaméni in central defence. On a brighter note for the visitors, they should have a clean bill of health in midfield and attack, with Eduardo Camavinga featuring off the bench on his return from injury in the derby. 

Manchester City vs Real Madrid Odds

Manchester City are the 11/8 favourites to win the first leg. You can back Real Madrid to win at 15/8, while the Draw is priced at 11/4. 

While it's the kind of match that will divide opinion amongst punters, most will come to the conclusion that it should serve up goals. There were three for each team in the first leg of last season's quarter-final in Madrid, and you can back Both teams to score at 4/9 here, while Both teams to score two or more goals is priced at 5/2. 

Over 3.5 goals is available at 6/5. You can also back Man City and Over 2.5 goals at 2/1, or alternatively, Real Madrid and Over 2.5 goals is available at 13/5. 

Erling Haaland is the most likely source of a home goal, and he's the 7/2 favourite to score first. The Norwegian can also be backed at 1/1 to score anytime. 

Jude Bellingham is available at a tempting 11/4 to score anytime on his return to England, while there are no shortage of Real Madrid Bet Builder options, with Vinícius, Mbappé and Rodrygo all likely to start. You can back all three to have at least one shot on target in this game at 9/5. 

Bet 1 - Both teams to score & Erling Haaland 2+ shots on target @ 13/10 

Erling Haaland has failed to score on his four previous appearances against Real Madrid, but he has to fancy his chances of dominating a makeshift visiting defence in this game.  

21-year-old Asencio has coped quite well since injuries served up his first senior opportunity earlier in the season, but this is by far the biggest test of the young centre-back's career to date. His partnership with Tchouaméni, a midfielder by trade, is a relatively untested one. 

That should help to ensure the City frontman gets opportunities in this game, and he has hit the target at least twice in six of his last eight appearances. 

This is highly unlikely to be one-way traffic though, and a City side that is giving their opponents far too much space, may be exposed by a Real Madrid attack that is electric on the break. Given that, I'm using the Bet Builder to back Both teams to score and Erling Haaland 2+ shots on target at 13/10. 

Bet 2 - Kylian Mbappé to score anytime @ 5/4 

Ancelotti has tried different systems this season as he bids to find the combination that works best in terms of getting the most out of his attacking riches. Unless he has a surprise in store here, the Real Madrid boss is likely to stick with the 4-2-3-1 system seen in recent games, with Mbappé leading the line. 

While that approach perhaps sacrifices some of the goal threat provided by Vinícius and Bellingham, it is designed to provide the French international with as many opportunities as possible. 

He has been looking much sharper and more confident since the turn of the year, and should get space to exploit in this game, with the onus on City to push forwards and target a first-leg advantage. With nine goals in his last eight matches, I'm backing Mbappé to score anytime at 5/4. 

Mark Sochon primarily covers Spanish Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out Mark's Football Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...