MANCHESTER CITY were 2-1 winners in their Last 16 first leg Champions League showdown with Real Madrid. We asked Tom Love (TomLove_18) to analyse the odds ahead of the second leg showdown at The Etihad on Friday night.
Manchester City vs Real Madrid | Friday 7th August 2020, 20:00 | BT Sport
Arguably the tie of the round takes place on Friday night as Manchester City hope to seal their place in the quarter finals. They currently have a 2-1 advantage and two important away goals in the bag and are rightly favourites to progress.
That being said, Madrid are a much different side to that would’ve played on the original date. Los Blancos ended the season strongly, becoming a winning machine and wrapping up the La Liga title, they are to be feared. Karim Benzema has been exceptional again this season and defensively they’ve been top notch too.
Unfortunately for Zinedine Zidane he will be without star man Sergio Ramos and that blow cannot be understated. Ramos has not only proved solid at the back but has contributed heavily at the top of the pitch. Eder Militao is likely to come in alongside Raphael Varane which is a downgrade and something Pep Guardiola will no doubt target.
It will be interesting to see if Zidane opts for Casemiro as a more advanced midfielder with Valverde and Kroos sitting behind. It’s something he’s opted for a few times and the Brazilian has impressed. He averages a decent 1.3 shots per game proving that he likes a pop.
Over half of them are from outside the area and given how hard it is to penetrate the box of City. Pokerstars go 6/5 on Casemiro to attempt a shot from outside the box and that does appeal given the Spaniards are chasing the game.
Man City are usually a cynical team in terms of fouls against the big teams and you’d expect that to be further amplified given the game state. Madrid have some very dangerous players in wide areas and City will be hell bent on keeping them away from the danger zones.
Unibet go 9/10 for the hosts to commit over 12.5 fouls and that makes a lot of appeal, especially given the fact the firm also allow extra time for this bet should it go that far.
Best Bets
Manchester City vs Real Madrid – Casemiro 1+ shot outside the box (6/5 Pokerstars)
Manchester City vs Real Madrid – Manchester City Over 12.5 Fouls (9/10 Unibet)
