- Real Madrid v Manchester City
- Tuesday May 9, 2023, 15:00 ET
- At the Estadio Bernabeu
Manchester City is heavily tipped to beat Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals, but Real is a strong tip to win the first leg.
Who do Bettors Favor?
Looking at the top-rated sportsbooks it is clear that bettors heavily favor Manchester City in this first semi-final game. City is quoted at odds of around +120 despite being the visiting team, while Real Madrid is a +220 bet, and the draw is the underdog at around +260.
| Real Madrid v Manchester City |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid | +220 | +222 | +210 |
| Draw | +268 | +248 | +260 |
| Manchester City | +122 | +121 | +115 |
UCL Betting Briefing
The UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious international club football tournament in the world, and this year's edition features four of the biggest names in world football vying for a spot in the final, which will take place at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on October 6, 2023.
The last four stage of this year's competition features the two best teams in its history. Real Madrid was the tournament's inaugural winner in 1956, when it was referred to as the European Cup, and has won it 14 times in total, including last season, while Milan has a total of seven victories, with the most recent coming in 2007. Internazionale has won this trophy three times, most recently in 2010, while Manchester City has notoriously never done so.
The last 12 renewals of the Champions League have been won by clubs from Spain, Germany, or England. However, this year, we are guaranteed to see an Italian team in the final, something that hasn't happened since 2017, perhaps reflecting a growing resurgence in Italian football.
Real Madrid v Manchester City, 05-09-23
Two of the oldest and most well-known clubs in European football square off over two legs in this tie but despite their illustrious names, the European records of the two teams could not be more dissimilar.
Real Madrid is the 14-time champion, having appeared in 17 European Cup or Champions League finals, while Manchester City only made it to the final once and has never won it. This record is somewhat less shocking when one considers that, while it has long been a major English team, City has only been considered a European giant since the massive investment of its Qatari owners around a decade ago.
The last two meetings between the teams have been filled with goals. In 2020, a COVID-19-interrupted competition featured a 4-2 aggregate victory for City and last year, it was Real's turn to celebrate after it beat City 6-5 on aggregate in a dramatic semi-final.
Domestically, Real Madrid has lost ground to Barcelona, while Manchester City is surging toward yet another Premier League championship. However, success in England has yet to translate into European honors for Pep Guardiola's squad, and here he is once again up against Carlo Ancelotti, the tournament's most successful manager.
Considering that Real has not matched the heights of its performances last year and that City is in top form, the Premier League team is a deserving favorite over the two legs, but the price seems excessively low for the first leg in Madrid. At these odds, Real represents an excellent bet to win the first leg, at a venue where it has only lost twice all season.
Milan v Internazionale, 05-10-2023
In Italian football, only Juventus can lay claim to the same stature as these two legendary clubs, and this semi-final match is made even more intriguing by the component of local rivalry, as both legs will be played at the San Siro, the renowned old stadium where both teams call home.
This is not the first Champions League meeting between these two teams. In the 2002 quarterfinals and 2004 semifinals, Milan prevailed both times, but in the 2023 Serie A, the rivalry is much closer. Domestically, the home team won both Serie A matches by a single goal, but Internazionale won the Supercoppa Italiana in January in Riyadh by a score of 3-0. This match, however, is on a different level, and both teams will be under tremendous pressure.
Both teams have come through difficult games in this year’s Champions League. Both came in second place in their Groups, and both fought valiantly through knockout rounds. Milan eked out a 2-1 aggregate victory over Napoli in the quarterfinals, while Internazionale eked out a 1-0 victory over Porto in the Round of 16, but dispatched Benfica with ease.
Milan under Stefano Pioli has a distinct identity, and the manner in which it defeated Tottenham Hotspur in the Round of 16 and Napoli in the quarterfinals suggests that Internazionale will have to earn its victory here. This is an extremely difficult match to predict, but one factor that we can probably count on is a cautious approach from both teams, so going low on Total Goals seems the best option.
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