UEFA Champions League Prediction: Manchester City – Real Madrid (17-03-2026)

After one of the best individual performances in the competition history Real Madrid have a huge three goals advantage. Can one of the best managers ever Pep Guardiola make the right adjustments and create a comeback?

Heading into the first meeting Real Madrid were slight underdogs due to their very long injury list. But even without such stars as Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and few others, the club showed why they are the most successful club in this Champions League tournament.

Manchester City started off more aggressively, but couldn’t find the way towards the goal in the 16 metres area. T.Courtois started the counter attack in the 20th minute with a long ball which was stopped by F.Valverde who converted it into a goal.

The Uruguayan star did not stop there as only 7 minutes later he found the net again as his low strike inside the right post was too much for the keeper. By the 42nd minute F.Valverde scored a hattrick after B.Diaz laid the ball off to him inside the box.

After this brutal stretch Manchester City tried to take back control of the game, but did not create anything significant, ending the match with only 0.58 xG. Moreover, they can be considered lucky as Vinicius Jr. failed to score a penalty in the 58th minute which would hardly leave any questions for the second leg.

Although it’s never over until it’s over, P.Guardiola now must improve results in the Premier League as his coach position is getting shaky. We might see less concentration in this match, but regardless of that they can still cling to this fixture.

In order to do so now they must press from the start of the game and the whole game. Naturally, this should give Real Madrid decent chances to answer back, and with K. Mbappe likely to return, we are expecting both sides to score, and it is a good choice for a bet at the top bookmakers.