Manchester City are attempting to turn around a three goal deficit in the Champions League this week as they take on 15-time winners Real Madrid.
A shambolic first leg performance in Madrid has Pep Guardiola's side 3-0 down on aggregate with the odds stacked against them. An injury-hit and out-of-form Madrid side were there for the taking in the eyes of many, but a questionable team selection from Guardiola combined with schoolboy individual errors in the first half means City have it all to do in Manchester.
The Sky Blues have been well short of the best this season, but they still come into this game in decent form with seven wins from their last ten games. They lost only once in that period (the first leg in Madrid), but they did follow that up with a very sub-par performance in the league at the weekend. City were held to a 1-1 draw at the hands of relegation-threatened West Ham, a result that many are claiming all but ends their Premier League title hopes.
Seven of City's last ten games have seen over 2.5 goals scored so they'll fancy their chances of putting a few in the Madrid net here, but they'll need to worry about what does on at the other end too.
Real Madrid will be hugely satisfied with their first leg performance at a time they needed a major confidence boost, and they'll now feel well equipped to make a serious bid for a 16th Champions League crown.
Madrid followed up their win over City with a 4-1 win over Elche at the weekend, further strengthening their growing momentum. They now have eight wins from their last ten games, and while the Etihad is not an easy place to go, they won't be remotely intimidated by the Premier League side.
Seven of Madrid's last ten games have seen over 2.5 goals scored, so there is a feeling we could see a high-event encounter, but Madrid's infallible mentality in this competition makes any sort of dramatic comeback highly unlikely.
Manchester City 2-2 Real Madrid
