UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[jostorres]

Oh how mean, how come the bookmakers don't even favor him at the Bernabeu.
This is very serious, it means that our dear Real Madrid is in a very bad situation.
I think we really need to make a lot of changes to get Real Madrid back on track. For me of course.

It's not meanness, it's their job. They can't favor a team out of sympathy and then lose a lot of money.
Your sentence is really silly, sorry to say so.
I also think that Real Madrid has no chance of making it, absolutely not.
For this reason the odd is not good.

While I agree that Real Madrid is not looking that great like they normally do, it's still Real Madrid we are talking about and they are not a team to ignore. You can't just expect them to roll over and lose, they will do their best and it's a team filled with very talented players, a lot of them are injured but even the others who will play are very talented players. City is not old self neither, they are not leading premier league by 10+ Points like they used to, they are second place.

If I have to make a choice, I would say City is better too, but I would not say City is so favourite that Real Madrid has no chance, there is always a chance, in any game, and Real Madrid is a big enough club to have a possibility even if a small one.

[Distraction]

By the way this is the knockout h2h history between Real Madrid and Manchester City so far:



Real Madrid outweigh in this one of the most common draws in this stage of the CL in the last 10 years.    However I expect Manchester City to be the happy side this time... Real Madrid lack many important names and I don't trust Arbeloa against Guardiola also.

By the way isn't it just insane that they had a draw each other 6 times in the last 7 years??? I'm just going to start thinking like it's rigged or what. 

[Jegileman]

For the fact Galatasaray got the tempo, Liverpool is in danger of not working as a team, unless they come up and play pretty well like they used to, with the strength of team work in them, Galatasaray would defeat the reds. It's just that simple, while Liverpool would be visiting Instanbul, Liverpool still have top players in their midst, which would make the game very competitive for Galatasaray, but they'll definitely come up with a great plan that'll dismantle Liverpool in their home, to keep them ahead, whenever they go to England.

I don’t see Galatasaray as a team that would allow Liverpool to pass through them easily without them resisting them. Galatasaray now feels themselves bigger after passing out through the group stage to the knockout phase and now to the young of 16. Their confidence and morale to be able to go forward in this competition has indeed increased and that should be something we should really look into as they prepare to play against Liverpool in the round of 16. Liverpool may look to be a great team, but I don’t think Galatasaray will preview them like that, they’ll play to their best and find a way to eliminate them so that they can advance to the quarterfinals ahead of them.

[BitBakerr1]

Based on the data I have read, there are about seven Real Madrid players who are still injured. They are:
- Eder Militao
- Rodrygo
- Dani Ceballos
- J. Bellingham
- Mbappe
- Eduardo Camavinga
- David Alaba
(Sourch: https://www.transfermarkt.co.id/real-madrid/sperrenundverletzungen/verein/418)

Looking at this list, we realize how vulnerable Real Madrid's squad is right now.

Camavinga might be able to return as far as I have heard. But only his return wouldn't be enough for Real Madrid of course. Just look at this horrible looking list.

Not having Mbappe on the pitch is enough to be worried about scoring for them. I think Arbeloa should give Gonzalo Garcia a chance this time instead of weird choices like Diaz as a striker.

I think Guardiola will leave this game happily. Even a win would be a natural result for them.

Manchester City is suppose to win this match because right now a lot of Real Madrid players won’t play because of injury and this players are Real Madrid best players, if Camavinga return it will be a very good one for Real Madrid, Mbappe has returned from France and I really don’t know his condition right now, because the reason why he went to France is because he need a good check on him by doctors over there, it seems Real Madrid doctors are not doing a good job on him, I will advise Mbappe to go for the surgery they recommended for him, his still very young and he has a long time to play and achieve more things in football, I really want to know the report from the France medical team.
Yes the coach should give Gonzalo Garcia a chance I believe he will do better. The match will be an interesting one.

[BlackBaron]

I think City will win. Madrid will be without Mbappe, Rodrygo, and Bellingham. It's such a huge advantage for my club, though the game is gonna be away for us. What they can do to fully rely upon Vini's brilliance to score.
However, we're ready to play the full squad. So i guess it's easy for us to counter Vini who is gonna be the only threat from Madrid's side.

Realistically, if we somehow score 2 goal lead then i thinkt he second leg is gonna be far easy. You know i don't expect the current Madrid team to make remontada at our home game.
However, the problem is scoring two goal at very least has always been difficult at Bernabeu.

So, i will be so happy if my team will able to capitalize my expectation to them.  

Real Madrid will likely be unable to field their best squad in this match, which is clearly something that will greatly benefit Manchester City. It will not be easy for Real Madrid to play without their key players, and that could be something that causes them to lose badly.

It would also be very advantageous for Manchester City if they can secure a victory, as they will be playing at home in the second leg. I think Arbeloa is currently struggling to determine his strategy and decide which players will replace some of the key players who may not be able to play.

[salad daging]

At this rate, practically everyone will end up playing as a coach or in Real Madrid's youth team. Bad, bad, bad.
This situation with 7 first team players broken puts Real Madrid in an extremely emergency situation
the bookmakers are right.. for me of course

How not to be an extreme emergency, many major players on the injury list are clearly not in Real Madrid's favor at this time, maybe Arbeloa will apply other options as his strategy where not to lose at home at least a draw is good enough if an emergency like this.

The bookies are usually not wrong, because they see the situation of the players who are absent then it is not a favorite.

[savetheFORUM]

Tomorrow night will be a big day for Galatasaray fans, as our team will play at home against Liverpool.
If we eliminate Liverpool, we will advance to the quarter finals.
I see the chances of winning as 40% for Galatasaray and 60% for Liverpool.
Earlier in the league stage, we had beaten Liverpool 1–0 at home and I believe we can beat them again tomorrow night.

I can't remember the last time Galatasaray made it to the round of 16,  and seeing them hosting LiverpooI, I am very happy for them because they put on a good fight to get to the place they are now, and tomorrow will be a big day and big night for them. Liverpool is the favourite in this match, but I am not ruling out the possibility of Galatasaray repeating what they did against Liverpool in the early stage of this season's Champions League, because anything can happen in football.

I think it's mainly because they have been spending way too much money to get here, and they are finally getting it paid back. They got Osimhen this year, well technically speaking Osimhen played for them last year as well but he was on loan there, this year they bought his rights completely, and that alone was 75+ million, with a 20+ million salary, that's not a thing any Turkish team has done ever before, in fact his just single instalment is higher than any money they paid for any player before. Similarly they spent a lot on other players too, and build a squad that is very high quality.

[slapper]

I think both Real Madrid and Manchester City are actually performing at a similar level. neither team is in their best form this season. Both teams often make mistakes in matches that shouldn't be a problem for them in their respective leagues. so I think the outcome of the match between these two teams will be very difficult to predict. Because both teams could play at their best. Or the opposite could happen. however, I believe that the home advantage will be more beneficial for one team. for example, in the first leg, Real Madrid might win, but in the second leg, Manchester City could win in regular time. The number of goals will ultimately decide the outcome.

I don't agree with you. Manchester city has been a better team than Real Madrid for some weeks now. Even if Manchester city ended up drawing to Nottingham forest, that doesn't put them in thesame level with Madrid. The January signing of Guehi and Semenyo made more impact on Manchester city, since then they have been quicker to everything, both defensively and attacking wise, they gave City a boost to be more effective this season. On the other hand, Madrid has a lot of players on their injury list which is the cause of their recent downfall, they haven't picked up any point in their last 2 games. I dont see any home advantage for Madrid, they lost to Getafe at home some days ago.

So my point is Manchester city has more chances of winning in the first leg than Real Madrid, then were it will be difficult to predict a winner is in the second leg, the real game will be played in the second leg, because by that time some of Madrid injured players will be back again. I am just waiting patiently for the second leg of this tie, as for the first leg, I think Manchester city will take the advantage and win on Wednesday.

People keep bringing up the Forest draw like it proves City are vulnerable. But Forest sat back and defended for their lives with barely any possession. Somehow they got lucky with the break twice. That occurs to literally every top team at one time or another. It doesn't mean anything structural.

What DOES mean something is the squad depth difference. City can rotate between Haaland, Semenyo, Marmoush, Cherki - four real attacking options. Madrid? They have Vinicius... And then a bunch of kids, and backup options that Arbeloa has been shuffling around desperately. As nothing worked in three games, the man tried three different formations.

Where I disagree with you though is on the second leg of where Madrid fight back. Everyone assumes Mbappe and Bellingham return for the Etihad game. But - SI reported they're "working towards it". And even if Mbappe makes it, he's been battling that knee problem since December. You think a half-fit Mbappes at the Etihad against a Guardiola side that is fired up is going to turn things around? I've seen too many rushed comebacks go wrong.

Arbeloa may not even make it out of this tie. The reports about the dressing room losing faith on him. The fact that he's already doing worse than Xabi Alonso who got fired before him. The entire institution is shaky.

City don't just have the better team right now. And they have the better of everything. That's hard to overcome on vibes alone.

[8rch7]

Based on the data I have read, there are about seven Real Madrid players who are still injured. They are:
- Eder Militao
- Rodrygo
- Dani Ceballos
- J. Bellingham
- Mbappe
- Eduardo Camavinga
- David Alaba
(Sourch: https://www.transfermarkt.co.id/real-madrid/sperrenundverletzungen/verein/418)

Looking at this list, we realize how vulnerable Real Madrid's squad is right now.

You must add one player on the list above, I checked an update from Fabrizio Rumano tweet last few minutes ago Madrid will leave by Alvaro Carreras suffer a muscle injury and already confirming by Real Madrid team. For Mbappe still questionable have rumor will back against Manchester City indeed no really sure about the information is correct or not, leaving by many key player make Madrid and Arbeloa must looking for the right formation exactly at central forward is crucial position.

Manchester City has full team for facing Madrid but has little bad news due Erling Haaland out from the composition team when success defeating Newcastle United at FA Cup match, will Haaland absent for the first leg match against Madrid in this middle week?

[Unsoldier]

Mbappe rumors will be fit for the Champion League first leg match against Manchester City but recently Madrid official management team not announce yet with possibility for their player comeback, in my opinion still speculation about possibility Mbappe comeback from injury exactly he missed two domestic league matches in La Liga and not sure yet will play at the early minutes in champion league.

It seems like there hasn’t been any confirmation yet on whether Mbappe will actually play in the UCL. There are a lot of rumors saying that even though he has recovered, the management still seems hesitant to let him play in that match. But I’ve also seen news that Mbappe really wants to play against Man City. My guess is that if he does end up playing, he’ll probably come on in the second half as a substitute.

They are finding it difficult to win some of their domestic league games against average teams just because of injuries to some players

From my perspective, it’s actually not fair to compare Madrid’s performance in domestic competitions with their performance in the UCL. Sometimes a team that looks weak in the domestic can turn into a scary team in the UCL. On the other hand, there’s still Vinic who can be relied on. So I admit Madrid has injury problems with some key players, but that doesn’t mean Madrid will lose that match.

Absolutely. The Champions League is the most prestigious tournament in football, which is why teams often give their all to win. That is why Real Madrid, despite all their injuries, can still beat Manchester City if they give 100%. At the same time, I am sure Guardiola won't expect Real to play poorly without their key players; his team will also put in every effort to win.

[Cryptmuster]

Absolutely. The Champions League is the most prestigious tournament in football, which is why teams often give their all to win. That is why Real Madrid, despite all their injuries, can still beat Manchester City if they give 100%. At the same time, I am sure Guardiola won't expect Real to play poorly without their key players; his team will also put in every effort to win.

Manchester City are not in the best form right now and are going through a difficult period. They can produce a good run of winning matches, but then they have a home game against Nottingham, that they fail to win, or a match against a struggling Tottenham side near the bottom of the table, which they also fail to win.

That’s why I think they have equal chances with Real Madrid in this matchup. Of course, it’s starting to feel a bit repetitive that they meet in the Champions League at such an early stage almost every time. Sometimes the draw even feels like someone’s joke, but this has been happening year after year. I think Real Madrid should not lose to City at home, although to be honest anything can happen here, because both City and Real are quite unpredictable right now.

[Uhde]

For the fact Galatasaray got the tempo, Liverpool is in danger of not working as a team, unless they come up and play pretty well like they used to, with the strength of team work in them, Galatasaray would defeat the reds. It's just that simple, while Liverpool would be visiting Instanbul, Liverpool still have top players in their midst, which would make the game very competitive for Galatasaray, but they'll definitely come up with a great plan that'll dismantle Liverpool in their home, to keep them ahead, whenever they go to England.

I don’t see Galatasaray as a team that would allow Liverpool to pass through them easily without them resisting them. Galatasaray now feels themselves bigger after passing out through the group stage to the knockout phase and now to the young of 16. Their confidence and morale to be able to go forward in this competition has indeed increased and that should be something we should really look into as they prepare to play against Liverpool in the round of 16. Liverpool may look to be a great team, but I don’t think Galatasaray will preview them like that, they’ll play to their best and find a way to eliminate them so that they can advance to the quarterfinals ahead of them.

it will be a tough game for both side. Liverpool has a massive edge in terms of experience in these European fixtures. With 7 players one booking away from suspension Galatasaray will find it very hard in the return leg even if they get a result here.

[RockBell]

While I agree that Real Madrid is not looking that great like they normally do, it's still Real Madrid we are talking about and they are not a team to ignore. You can't just expect them to roll over and lose, they will do their best and it's a team filled with very talented players, a lot of them are injured but even the others who will play are very talented players. City is not old self neither, they are not leading premier league by 10+ Points like they used to, they are second place.

Is it just now you are noticing that real Madrid have not been that great since last season and they did not expect things to turn out this way but they are not taking this situation as a normal thing and it has gotten to level were they will be ignored because almost every one is tired of there games and for this reason there games are not even important and even if the injuries is also contributing they should have gotten players to fill in for the injured players and even aside that I feel like there problem is not just the Injury.

If I have to make a choice, I would say City is better too, but I would not say City is so favourite that Real Madrid has no chance, there is always a chance, in any game, and Real Madrid is a big enough club to have a possibility even if a small one.

In this case I feel City is better and they will win there game against real Madrid for a lot of reason like they are in a better state to win Real Madrid if real Madrid can struggle against smaller clubs then they will be smoked by Manchester city since there is a little improvement there.

[whiteblue]

I have the same view, but with a slightly different reason, I see their match as a regular match because I feel a bit bored that for several consecutive seasons they always meet in the round of 16, if the meeting was in a different round it would be a different story. In terms of performance, yes there is only a slight difference, Man City looks better but it is not their best performance at the moment, I predict that the first leg match will not be too interesting, meaning in terms of the game of both teams, they may not show a match as if it were a final match as usual from their matches.

I don't know if Manchester City has improved or if it seems to be a really good team worth betting on, i only see an Arsenal that seems to be unstoppable and it seems truly incredible to me that no one can stop them, this year the title has already been won by them, if they lose it, there is nothing else to do

We are actually quite blind to the potential of the match between Manchester City and Real Madrid because both are not in good condition and not in their best form so our conclusion is quite difficult in predicting this match, but what is certain is that they will definitely do the best they can do both Manchester City and Real Madrid, my moderate possibility is that the result will be a draw for both of these teams, whether it is 0-0 or 1-1, I really do not conclude which team will win the match.

[stompix]

Let's do something stupid 
Well, still 24 hours to go so I can make it more awesome but this is the blueprint:




Btw 67x 
And I want to hear only real arguments why this won't work! Lmao!

[Hyphen(-)]

Absolutely. The Champions League is the most prestigious tournament in football, which is why teams often give their all to win. That is why Real Madrid, despite all their injuries, can still beat Manchester City if they give 100%. At the same time, I am sure Guardiola won't expect Real to play poorly without their key players; his team will also put in every effort to win.

It is not because of the performance of the team, it is because Real Madrid is not playing really well since they signed Arbeloa. They have lost to Getafe and Osasuna in their recent Laliga games; these are teams that on a normal day when Real Madrid is not on form will defeat, but they lost to them to give Barcelona higher chance over them and now Barcelona have gap them with four solid points.

I know that Real Madrid is different when it comes to the Champions League which I think is hype because they have not performed well since last season when the UEFA changed roles of how the Champions League should be played and they didn’t qualify into the top eight last season and this season again; therefore with this squad, and their injury record, I don’t expect Real Madrid to defeat Manchester City this season.

[Dzwaafu11]

~snip~

Real Madrid will likely be unable to field their best squad in this match, which is clearly something that will greatly benefit Manchester City. It will not be easy for Real Madrid to play without their key players, and that could be something that causes them to lose badly.

It would also be very advantageous for Manchester City if they can secure a victory, as they will be playing at home in the second leg. I think Arbeloa is currently struggling to determine his strategy and decide which players will replace some of the key players who may not be able to play.

Manchester city is going win this match, infact they are the favorite to win the game. Because of how Real Madrid performance look currently, the key players of Real Madrid won’t be around in that match, many  of their key players won’t be around, so defining this going to be a huge opportunity for Manchester city.

They will do everything to see that they win this match, in the other it’s important for Real Madrid to win this match, so to me the match is going to be tough one none of the club will want to loose this match, let’s see what will happen then.

[skarais]

~~~

While I agree that Real Madrid is not looking that great like they normally do, it's still Real Madrid we are talking about and they are not a team to ignore. You can't just expect them to roll over and lose, they will do their best and it's a team filled with very talented players, a lot of them are injured but even the others who will play are very talented players. City is not old self neither, they are not leading premier league by 10+ Points like they used to, they are second place.

If I have to make a choice, I would say City is better too, but I would not say City is so favourite that Real Madrid has no chance, there is always a chance, in any game, and Real Madrid is a big enough club to have a possibility even if a small one.

Manchester City and Real Madrid both have a chance to qualify for the next round, but only the best team from this match will advance to the next round. Real Madrid and Manchester City are also not in their best form this season, but in the Champions League I think Real Madrid is always different. Real Madrid's performance in the Champions League so far has been recognized worldwide and they are the kings who are very difficult to beat, but if they were to fail then I don't expect Real Madrid to progress further and the round of 16 is their last round of the season.

Fortunately, Manchester City travels to the Bernabeu first, a rare occurrence in this type of knockout stage. Real Madrid usually plays away first, and they'll complete their mission at home in the second leg. My prediction is that City will progress from the last 16 if they can win or draw at the Bernabeu, but if they lose, they have a great chance of winning at home.

[Antotena]

I don’t see Galatasaray as a team that would allow Liverpool to pass through them easily without them resisting them. Galatasaray now feels themselves bigger after passing out through the group stage to the knockout phase and now to the young of 16. Their confidence and morale to be able to go forward in this competition has indeed increased and that should be something we should really look into as they prepare to play against Liverpool in the round of 16. Liverpool may look to be a great team, but I don’t think Galatasaray will preview them like that, they’ll play to their best and find a way to eliminate them so that they can advance to the quarterfinals ahead of them.

Liverpool didn't go through play off only to come back to the knockouts stage like the way Galatassaray did, they had were the 3rd team in the table with 2 loss of 8, they smashed 6 games and most of those teams are not easy target. They faced Real Madrid this season and made them have the worst of their days in Etihad, meanwhile Galatassaray was having the worst rime trying to come up in the table but couldn't until they face Juventus which they almost loss.

If not for time constraint, Juventus would have nailed that game without much effort but time wasn't on their side as their goal didn't come on time. I know Liverpool are not doing well enough like they did last season in their domestic league but they are not that bad considering how the players has been changed. Many of the players of last season are not the players we are having now, but still they are not in their worse form to be use a joke.

[Arenga pinnata]

I think both Real Madrid and Manchester City are actually performing at a similar level. neither team is in their best form this season. Both teams often make mistakes in matches that shouldn't be a problem for them in their respective leagues. so I think the outcome of the match between these two teams will be very difficult to predict. Because both teams could play at their best. Or the opposite could happen. however, I believe that the home advantage will be more beneficial for one team. for example, in the first leg, Real Madrid might win, but in the second leg, Manchester City could win in regular time. The number of goals will ultimately decide the outcome.

I don't agree with you. Manchester city has been a better team than Real Madrid for some weeks now. Even if Manchester city ended up drawing to Nottingham forest, that doesn't put them in thesame level with Madrid. The January signing of Guehi and Semenyo made more impact on Manchester city, since then they have been quicker to everything, both defensively and attacking wise, they gave City a boost to be more effective this season. On the other hand, Madrid has a lot of players on their injury list which is the cause of their recent downfall, they haven't picked up any point in their last 2 games. I dont see any home advantage for Madrid, they lost to Getafe at home some days ago.

So my point is Manchester city has more chances of winning in the first leg than Real Madrid, then were it will be difficult to predict a winner is in the second leg, the real game will be played in the second leg, because by that time some of Madrid injured players will be back again. I am just waiting patiently for the second leg of this tie, as for the first leg, I think Manchester city will take the advantage and win on Wednesday.

I did say that before I checked the list of injured players in the Real Madrid squad. But after checking it yesterday, I immediately had doubts about Real Madrid, even in the first leg. Even bookmakers would surely think the same. it's just that sometimes we can be too dismissive of teams like Real Madrid in the Champions League. After all, we know that in a purely defensive mode, even with the available squad, Real Madrid can become a team that is very difficult to score against. The first leg could end in a draw or the match could proceed with few goals scored. In the second leg, the injured players might be back. But what can we expect from players who have just recovered from injuries? They usually aren't at their best yet. but well, that might be a little better than not having them at all.