Manchester City vs. Real Madrid Champions League Semi Final Odds

The 2022-23 Champions League is nearing completion, with Inter Milan, who advanced to the final with a win on Tuesday, now awaiting the winner of this Manchester City vs. Real Madrid tie.

After the first leg ended in a 1-1 stalemate, the two European giants will duke it out at the Etihad in Manchester on Wednesday, May 17th for the right to meet Inter Milan. Despite the close contest in the first leg, Manchester City comes into this one as pretty big moneyline favorites on all betting sites.

Manchester City vs. Real Madrid Soccer Odds

The run of form that Manchester City are currently on paired with the fact that they play the second leg at home likely has a lot to do with why they come into this matchup as such strong favorites against a historically strong Champions League side like Real Madrid. Odds provided by Sports Interaction.

Manchester City Odds

There is no team in the world of football that has been as scorching hot as Manchester City over the last few months. They have not lost a single match in any competition since their surprising 1-0 defeat at Tottenham in the league back on February 5.

Since then, they’ve reeled off a whopping 22-game unbeaten streak that has left them in the driver’s seat for the English Premier League title for the fifth time in six years, with a spot in the FA Cup Final, and a place in this Champions League semi final matchup with the Spanish giants from Madrid.

In the Round of 16 Pep Guardiola’s squad drew 1-1 in the first leg against Leipzig, only to come back in the second leg and demolish them 7-0 at home, which is an encouraging sign for them after the 1-1 draw in the first leg of this tie with Real Madrid. The fact that City comes into this match without any major injury concerns apart from fullback Nathan Ake is also a big positive for them this late in the campaign.

City has also been very dominant at the Etihad this season, riding a 14-game home winning streak in all competitions into this match. They have also scored 3+ goals in 10 of their last 14 matches overall as their potent attack has somehow gone up a notch in recent weeks. Erling Haaland has not slowed down one bit and Kevin De Bruyne is becoming just as deadly striking the ball on goal as he has always been in setting up his teammates.

Real Madrid Odds

It will truly take a Herculean effort for Carlo Ancelotti’s side to pull a result out at the Etihad. Real Madrid hasn’t been great away from the Bernabeu this season, losing six out of their 17 away games in La Liga. Meanwhile, City has outscored their opponents 52-7 at the Etihad since the start of the calendar year.

Madrid can take solace in the fact that they will be getting back their world-class center back Eder Militao from suspension, as the Brazilian was forced to miss the first leg after racking up too many yellow cards. He will undoubtedly make a massive difference, and at 6’1” with good pace and ball skills, he could be the key to keeping Haaland from making an impact here.

Meanwhile, the offensive attack will need to be a little more clinical than they were in the first leg when they managed to get just four of their 13 shots on target. The goal Vinicius Junior scored to put them up in that game was a real bullet from outside the box and was not the type of well-worked goal that Real Madrid is used to scoring. They will look to get back to their bread and butter with the smooth interchange they’ve exhibited so often this season between Luka Modric in the middle of the pitch and Karim Benzema, Vinicius, and Rodrygo at the top.

Real Madrid also has the added incentive of losing out on La Liga to rival Barcelona. Madrid did win the Copa Del Rey, but when they don’t manage to win the league or the Champions League, the season is generally considered a failure.

Ancelotti is also one of the most decorated managers in pro football today, having won the Champions League four times already in his career on the touchline. Madrid is also by far the most successful Champions League team in history having won 14 titles (seven more than second place), including championships in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2022. That extra sense of desperation could help Madrid get an upset here and salvage their season, but it just as well could lead to them being overly aggressive and allowing City to get the jump on them.