Manchester City can expose Real Madrid and reach the Champions League quarter-finals

Manchester City have not always hit top gear this season as they prepare to face familiar foes Real Madrid in the Last-16 of the  Champions League .

Pep Guardiola’s men trail leaders Arsenal by seven points in the Premier League but they have made a habit of finding their best form during the business end of the campaign.

Here,  DAZN News reporter Ross Heppenstall  suggests City have enough talent in their ranks to see off a Madrid side who have been far from convincing in recent weeks.

Another inconsistent campaign by City’s high standards

Guardiola’s men have been the standard bearers of English football during the past decade, amassing six Premier League titles since the Spaniard arrived in the summer of 2016.

There was a maiden Champions League title in 2023 to complete a glorious treble, but last term saw a huge drop-off.

City failed to win a trophy in a season for the first time since Guardiola’s first campaign in charge in 2016-17.

This season has seen Arsenal set the pace at the top of the Premier League, with City having lost two of their opening three games.

They recovered and, at times have looked capable of potentially overhauling Mikel Arteta’s men.

But after City were held to a 2-2 draw at home to struggling Nottingham Forest last week, the Gunners hold a potentially unassailable seven-point lead at the summit.

The title rivals face each other in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday week, while City sauntered into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 3-1 win at Newcastle at the weekend.

But could City be ready to claim their second Champions League title in four seasons?

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 A top-eight finish, but only just

 The Blues narrowly avoided the play-offs after scraping eighth place in the league phase to secure their spot in the Last-16.

They beat Napoli 2-0 at home in Matchday 1 before being held 2-2 at Monaco and then winning 2-0 in Villarreal.

City made a statement after hammering Borussia Dortmund 4-1 at the Etihad on Bonfire Night, but in late November, they suffered a shock 2-0 home defeat at Bayer Leverkusen.

Winning 2-1 at Real Madrid in Matchday 6 was a forcible reminder of the talent within City's ranks as goals from Nico O'Reilly and Erling Haaland sealed the win.

When the Champions League resumed in January, City suffered major embarrassment after losing 3-1 at Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt.

But a comfortable 2-0 home win over Turkish champions Galatasaray in Matchday 8 saw City finish in eighth, thus avoiding the need for a play-off.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, finished ninth in the league phase, forcing them into the play-offs where they overcame former boss Jose Mourinho’s Benfica side over two legs.

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Haaland set to return, O’Reilly’s star continues to rise

Erling Haaland started the season in devastating form, and in December, he smashed Alan Shearer's record by reaching 100 Premier League goals faster than anyone in the competition's history.

Since Christmas, though, Haaland has made 16 appearances for City and scored just four goals, marking a notable drop-off in his return.

Guardiola has other attacking options, of course, and Omar Marmoush scored twice with Haaland rested during Saturday’s 3-1 FA Cup fifth-round win at Newcastle.

It was a timely nudge to Guardiola from the Egyptian striker as he looks to force his way into the starting line-up for Wednesday’s showdown at the Bernabeu.

Haaland, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi, Rodri, and Bernardo Silva were rested during Saturday’s win at Newcastle but could all return to face Madrid. 

One player who has proven increasingly influential this season is rising homegrown star O’Reilly.

The imposing Mancunian broke into the team as a left-back but has played in midfield and the No 10 role in recent weeks, keeping the likes of Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki out of the team.

Having scored in the win at Madrid earlier this season, 20-year-old O’Reilly will look to repeat the trick on Wednesday.

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City can avenge defeats of the past two seasons

Pep Guardiola’s side are facing Madrid in a knockout stage of the Champions League for the fifth consecutive season and having already played them in the league phase three months ago.

They lost 6-3 to the Spanish giants in a play-off last season and were dumped out on penalties the previous campaign at the quarter-final stage.

Intriguingly, the sides have faced each other 15 times in the Champions League since 2012 and both have claimed five wins apiece.

There have been some epic battles between them but City will believe they can negotiate a way past the 15-time champions of Europe, especially with the second leg in Manchester next Tuesday.

Madrid finished last season empty-handed, spelling the end of Carlo Ancelotti’s second stint in charge, and his successor Xabi Alonso was shown the door in January.

Alvaro Arbeloa was promoted from Castilla but has overseen defeat to Albacete in the Copa del Rey, Champions League struggles against Benfica, and recent humiliating losses to Osasuna and Getafe.

Los Blancos are four points adrift of Barcelona in La Liga and, while Madrid’s record in the Champions League means you can never write them off, City look ripe to capitalise on the Spaniards’ struggles by knocking them out in the next week.

Should City progress, they will face either Bayern Munich or Atalanta, and they could play holders Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.

 

Watch the Champions League on DAZN

Every Champions League match this season can be watched on DAZN in Canada and New Zealand. 

For US soccer fans watch Atletico Madrid vs. Tottenham, and Real Madrid vs. Manchester City in the Last 16 exclusively on DAZN, in Spanish language.