Real Madrid v Man City: Ronaldo return spells disaster for Citizens
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Manchester City head to the Bernabeu this week having earned a credible draw against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
With the tie poised at 0-0 the Sky Blues – on the face of it – have a great chance to secure a path to the final for the first time in the club’s history.
The Citizens are priced at 5/1 to win on the night but having stopped Madrid scoring at the Etihad are just 7/4 to progress.
However, while it all looks fairly promising for City fans at first glance, the form book suggests a much tougher task for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
Madrid have won 32 of their last 36 games in front of their own fans and have lost just one of 24 in the Champions League at the Bernabeu.
Of course a draw – of the scoring variety – would see City reach the final on away goals but with patchy away form in the competition and Cristiano Ronaldo set to return for the hosts it looks a tall order.
City have won three, lost three and drawn three of their last nine on the road in this tournament and failed to score on each occasion where they ended up on the losing side.
And with Ronaldo back in town one thing is for sure, City will need to score.
The former Manchester United man has smashed 47 goals in 44 games for Madrid this season and with five strikes from the four games he played before missing the first leg through injury the Portuguese is in typically red-hot form.
His Real side go into the second leg priced at 4/9 to qualify for the final and 1/2 to win on the night but the real value could lie in backing CR7 to net first – for the sixth time in Europe this season – at 3/1.
Betting on the game? Make sure to consider these Ladbrokes Price Boosts…
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All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
