Real Madrid vs Manchester City Prediction: Foden to score anytime is a good price

There will be plenty of column inches written about Real Madrid and their manager Xabi Alonso heading into Wednesday's Champions League clash. Could this be his final game in charge? 

Our La Liga Betting Expert got the assignment for this match and doesn't see the home side keeping a clean sheet. Check out his thoughts with our match preview and his Real Madrid vs Manchester City Predictions here at Betfred Insights...

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Match Preview: 

Real Madrid and Manchester City have become familiar Champions League foes in recent years. The clubs meet again on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabéu. 

On the surface, the stakes are not quite as high this time around, at least in comparison to the five previous knockout ties between the sides in the 2020s. Real Madrid advanced in three of those duels, and were 6-3 aggregate winners when the clubs met last season. 

Neither club will be eliminated this week, with both sides already all but guaranteed a top-24 finish in the league stage. However, this match will have a big impact on the race for the top eight, with Los Blancos currently two points better off than their Premier League opponents. It may also go some way to determining Xabi Alonso's future as Real Madrid coach. 

The Spanish giants started this season with 13 wins from their opening 14 matches in all competitions. It's therefore almost unbelievable that we've reached December with many starting to question Alonso's position, but that is the bizarre state of affairs at the Bernabéu heading into this game. 

Truth be told, even during their many early-season victories, Real Madrid did not fully convince. They could frequently count on the brilliance of Kylian Mbappé to see them over the line, but there was little sign of a clear playing style emerging, and few other players really caught the eye. 

A more convincing display in El Clásico, followed by the 4-0 rout of Valencia in early November pointed towards an upward trend. However, that was immediately followed by a flat display in a defeat to a badly out-of-sorts Liverpool at Anfield. Including that game, it's now just two wins in seven outings for Real Madrid, the worst of which was a 2-0 home defeat against Celta Vigo on Sunday night. 

They lost their heads at the end of that match, with Fran García, Álvaro Carreras, and unused substitute Endrick all receiving red cards. However, that shouldn't detract from the reality that they were outplayed and outthought by their Galician opponents. 

Manchester City might be half expecting a backlash from their regular European rivals on Wednesday. If that doesn't come, the Sky Blues will stand a great chance of picking up their first victory in the Spanish capital since Kevin De Bruyne's late goal sealed a 2-1 win in 2020. 

The English side are certainly in better shape than when they last visited earlier this year. They've won seven of their last nine games in all competitions, with 11 goals scored across their last three matches, which produced victories over Leeds, Fulham and Sunderland. 

They were impressive 3-0 winners over the latter on Saturday. Rayan Cherki and Jérémy Doku were constant threats, with the duo operating behind striker Erling Haaland, although two of the goals were actually scored by defenders, with in-form Phil Foden netting the other. 

City did lose their last Champions League match, with the decision to rest Haaland backfiring on Pep Guardiola as Bayer Leverkusen won 2-0 at the Etihad.

Having also dropped points in Monaco, the 2023 European champions are likely going to need to win at least two of their final three fixtures to pass directly to the round-of-16. That means this is an important night for City, who also travel to play Bodø/Glimt and host Galatasaray in January. 

Team News: 

Real Madrid's weekend was made even worse by the sight of their most convincing centre-back Éder Militão limping off with a hamstring issue. The Brazilian is set for a lengthy spell out. That was the absolute last thing they needed, with fellow defenders Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ferland Mendy, David Alaba, and Dean Huijsen also currently dealing with injuries. 

Midfielder Eduardo Camavinga is also a fitness doubt heading into this match, while Mbappé has reportedly suffered a fractured finger, which led to him missing training on Tuesday. That may not be enough to rule the 26-year-old, though. 

As for Man City, some light rotation is expected from their win over Sunderland, with Tijjani Reijnders likely to come into the midfield. 

John Stones remains a major doubt in central defence. The visitors will also be missing Rodri and Mateo Kovačić for the trip to Spain. 

Match Odds: 

Manchester City are now the 6/4 favourites to win this game, with Real Madrid drifting to 13/8. The Draw is priced at 11/4, a winning bet in two of the last three meetings at the Bernabéu. 

There was a 5-4 win for City in their last away game at Fulham, and the expectation is that we'll get plenty of goals on Wednesday. Both teams to score is priced at 4/9, while you can back Over 3.5 goals at 6/5. You can also get odds of 5/6 for the visitors to score over 1.5 goals in the game. 

If you're expecting a strong response from Real Madrid to their surprise league defeat, you can back Los Blancos to score over 1.5 goals at 10/11. The hosts are on offer at 9/5 to score in both halves. 

Unsurprisingly, two names stand out at the top of the Goalscorer markets. Punters can take their pick with Haaland and Mbappé both on offer at 11/4 to score first. The star strikers also can't be split in the Anytime Goalscorer market, with both on offer at 4/5. 

From a home perspective, you can also back Vinícius Júnior to score anytime at 2/1. Jude Bellingham is available at 13/5 in the same market. Meanwhile, Doku is priced at 4/1 to get on the scoresheet for the visitors. 

*You can see all of our Real Madrid vs Manchester City Odds and betting markets over on betfred.com

Bet 1 - Man City to score over 0.5 goals & Over 2.5 offsides @ 20/21 

Much has been made about Barcelona's high line in Spain, but Real Madrid also operate in a similar fashion. Celta frequently found space in behind at the weekend, and City should have plenty of joy in that department.  

Haaland is the obvious threat, but the Norwegian has only scored one of his team's last 14 goals. That will encourage Guardiola, given there were fears that they'd become overly-dependent on the 25-year-old earlier in the campaign. 

By contrast, all of Real Madrid's last nine goals have been either scored or assisted by Mbappé. Their main tactic in a more assured performance in Bilbao last week was to play longer balls over the top for the Frenchman and Vinícius to run onto.  

That does come with an offside risk, and I can see both sides getting caught out by the flag in this game. Given that, I'm using the Bet Builder to back Man City to score over 0.5 goals and Over 2.5 offsides at 20/21. 

Bet 2 - Phil Foden to score anytime @ 9/4 

On current form, City's main goal threat may actually come from Foden. The England international has been exceptional over the past fortnight, scoring five goals in his last three matches. 

The midfielder is starting to get back towards his best level, and that's another very welcome boost for the visiting boss. Foden has scored nine times overall this season, with two of those goals coming in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund last month. 

Against an injury-ravaged City defence, the 25-year-old should find pockets of space to exploit, and I'm backing Foden to score anytime at 9/4. 

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Mark Sochon P/L 25/26 Season:

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