On Tuesday night, an eagerly anticipated UEFA Champions League semi-final match takes place at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as Real Madrid plays host to Manchester City. This encounter marks the ninth meeting between these two teams in European competition, with their previous encounters resulting in an even split of three wins each and two draws. However, Manchester City has been in better recent form, securing victory in three of their last four matches. Nevertheless, Real Madrid emerged triumphant in their most recent clash, a thrilling 3-1 win in last year’s semi-final second-leg in Spain.
Man City came close to making history by becoming the first English club to defeat Real Madrid away from home on multiple occasions in the Champions League. In this upcoming match, they have another opportunity to achieve that feat. Historically, English teams have struggled at the Santiago Bernabéu, with only four wins in 18 UCL away games against Real Madrid. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Man City have each tasted victory at the iconic stadium once.
Expect an abundance of goals in this clash. The previous four UEFA Champions League encounters between Real Madrid (eight goals) and Manchester City (nine goals) have produced a total of 17 goals, averaging at 4.3 per match. Although Man City had more shots on target than Real Madrid in these games (31 compared to 17), the Spanish side converted 47% of their attempts on target, while the Citizens managed a conversion rate of 29%.
Considering the anticipation for goals, bet365 offers an early payout promotion for teams leading by two goals during a match. It’s a straightforward offer: if you place a single bet on a team to win and they go two goals ahead at any point during the game, your bet will be settled as a winner in full, regardless of whether the opposing team manages to equalize or win.
Pep Guardiola, who last won the UEFA Champions League as a manager with Barcelona in 2011, faces off against Carlo Ancelotti, the coach with the most UCL/European Cup titles in history, boasting four. Guardiola will be determined to avoid further disappointment in the UCL semi-finals. If his Manchester City side is eliminated by Los Blancos, he will join José Mourinho as the coach with the most losses in UCL semi-final ties in the history of the competition (six). However, if Guardiola’s team progresses, Man City’s aspirations of achieving a historic treble will remain well within reach.
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