Former Real Madrid midfielder Guti has predicted a landslide victory for his former side ahead of their UEFA Champions League match against Manchester City on Wednesday.
Both teams head into the clash at the Santiago Bernabeu on the back of contrasting results. Real Madrid have been struggling recently, suffering a shocking 2-0 loss to Celta Vigo on Sunday. Manchester City, on the other hand, breezed past Sunderland 3-0 to close the gap at the top of the Premier League table.
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Despite Los Blancos’ shaky form, Guti backed them to take all three points against Pep Guardiola’s side. Speaking to journalists, he boldly claimed that Real Madrid will defeat Manchester City with a scoreline of 5-0.
It is worth noting that this will be the 15th time that both teams have faced each other in the Champions League. Their first meeting in the competition came in the 2012-13 campaign, and it is already the most-played fixture in the competition during this period (14 games).
Their most recent meeting came in the 2024-25 knockout phase playoffs, with Real Madrid edging both legs. The first leg, played at the Etihad Stadium, ended 3-2 in Los Blancos’ favor, while the return leg at the Bernabeu ended in a 3-1 win for the LaLiga giants, sealing a 6-3 aggregate victory.
Real Madrid vs. Manchester City: A few tidbits
Heading into today’s match, Real Madrid sit sixth while Manchester City are 12th in the league phase of the Champions League. The Citizens, despite their fine domestic form, fell to a disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the last UCL outing, while the Merengues edged a 4-3 thriller against Olympiacos.
In light of the foregoing, the English outfit will have their work cut out for this game, as Alonso’s Xabi Alonso’s side seems to be a different breed in Europe’s premier club competition. In fact, Opta tipped Madrid to win the game, giving the Whites a 41.8% chance and City a 34.2% win probability. The likelihood of a draw is 24%.
In what promises to be a remarkable contest, it will mark the first managerial meeting between Pep Guardiola and Xabi Alonso. Alonso made 79 appearances in his playing career under Guardiola (W58, D12, L9), all for Bayern Munich between August 2014 and May 2016.
Madrid also go into this contest on the third-longest streak of scoring in consecutive home games in European Cup/Champions League history (38 games), behind a 44-game run by Los Blancos themselves (September 2011-October 2018) and one of 45 games by Juventus (April 1973-September 2000).
Edited by Ezekiel Olamide
