Wednesday’s Real Madrid fixture against Manchester City could very well decide the fate of many at the Spanish club. For starters, Marca reports that a loss to the Manchester side would be the final nail in the coffin for manager Xabi Alonso. The futures of many players will most likely be clear after this fixture, as to who stays and who goes when the transfer window opens in three weeks. Real Madrid vs Manchester City promises to be a mid-season finale full of underlying storylines.
Real Madrid vs Manchester City: The Build Up
Los Blancos have fallen really low by their standards. They sit four points behind league leaders Barcelona after 16 games, with just two wins from their last seven matches. They also suffered their first home loss of the season on Sunday evening against Celta Vigo. Xabi Alonso started the campaign magnificently, with 13 wins in his first 14 matches. Having gone unbeaten in La Liga until they met Atletico Madrid in Matchday 7, fans were already imagining a repeat of Xabi Alonso’s heroics at Bayer Leverkusen where he led them to an unbeaten league title. A few weeks later, those same fans have turned on the manager and are demanding results.
In the Champions League, however, Real Madrid are different gravy. They always have been. They boast four wins in five UCL League Phase matches and should comfortably qualify for the knockouts. Despite scraping a shaky 4-3 victory against Olympiacos, comfortable wins against Juventus and Marseille earlier in the campaign see Los Blancos sit 5th in the UCL League Stage table.
But Real Madrid have only won 1 game since they last played in the Champions League, a 3-0 victory in a rescheduled fixture against Athletic Bilbao. They drew 1-1 against Girona and lost 2-0 to Celta Vigo. They now look a shadow of their former selves that took a strong lead at the top of La Liga, but have now gone behind.
Real Madrid vs Manchester City: Head to Head
Real Madrid vs Manchester City has become a surprisingly frequent fixture. Two of the biggest clubs in the two biggest leagues have faced each other five seasons in a row. This run began in the semi-finals of the 2021-22 campaign, and the upcoming clash will be the first time since 2012 that it is not a knockout tie. The last non-knockout meeting was in the 2011-12 UCL group stage, where Real Madrid remained unbeaten in both games.
In direct head to head, Real Madrid have won 6 games, Manchester City 4, and the remaining 4 were tied. Real Madrid have only lost 1 out of their last 7 games against the Cityzens.
This is a match-up that always provides goalmouth action. Real Madrid have scored 28 goals while Manchester City have scored 27. Three or more goals have been scored by one of the teams in four of the last five fixtures. Expect Kylian Mbappe to run riot.
Kylian Mbappe is two goals short of becoming the top scorer in this fixture, as he scored 4 goals in his 2 games against Man City as a Real Madrid player last season in the play-off match for the knockouts. The top scorer is Karim Benzema with 6.
What to Expect
Xabi Alonso has his job on the line, but his first worry is that of the growing injury list. Eder Militao suffered a hamstring injury against Celta Vigo, ruling him out of Wednesday’s fixture. The defensive woes continue with both right backs, Dani Carvajal and Trent Alexander-Arnold, out until January. Ferland Mendy and David Alaba are also unavailable due to muscle and calf injuries.
The meltdown against Celta Vigo has also impacted the squad psychologically. Both left backs, Alvaro Carreras and Fran Garcia, received red cards in the La Liga match, and while they will play in this Champions League fixture, they enter it mentally affected.
On the other hand, Kylian Mbappe is in the form of his life. Having already registered a career-best nine goals in the Champions League, Alonso can rely on him to lead the line and match any potential strikes from Erling Haaland on the other end.
Federico Valverde will once again be used at right back instead of his natural midfield role, while Vinicius Jr and Arda Guler may accompany Mbappe up front. Jude Bellingham will dictate play in midfield, and it remains to be seen which two of Aurelien Tchouameni, Dani Ceballos or Eduardo Camavinga will join him.
Rodrygo, unlikely to start or possibly even feature, still has an excellent record against Manchester City. The Brazilian has scored four goals against them and has been instrumental in several Madrid wins in this fixture. He is available, but whether he plays depends on Xabi Alonso.
Hooligan Soccer’s predicted line-up:
Formation: 4-3-3
GK: Courtois
Defenders: Valverde / Asencio / Rüdiger / Carreras
Midfielders: Tchouameni / Bellingham / Camavinga
Forwards: Güler / Mbappé / Vinícius Jr.
Hooligan Soccer’s prediction:
A 2-2 draw.
