Sports
Real Madrid vs. Manchester City: UCL Odds, Live Stream, TV Schedule
Quality Sport Images/Getty ImagesReal Madrid welcome Manchester City to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie.Los Blancos have been crowned European champions 13 times in their history, more than any other team, and face a Manchester City side that have never made it past the semi-finals…
Quality Sport Images/Getty Images
Real Madrid welcome Manchester City to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie.
Los Blancos have been crowned European champions 13 times in their history, more than any other team, and face a Manchester City side that have never made it past the semi-finals of Europe's top tournament.
Zinedine Zidane's side have home advantage on Wednesday but have hit something of a slump. The Spanish giants were beaten 1-0 by Levante on Sunday and have won only one of their last four.
Date: Wednesday, February 26
Time: 8 p.m. GMT/3 p.m. ET
TV Info: BT Sport 2 (UK), TNT (U.S.)
Live Stream: BT Sport Live (UK), B/R Live ( (U.S.)
Odds (courtesy of Caesars Palace): Real Madrid 7-4, Draw 11-4, Manchester City 7-5
Match Preview
Real Madrid have been hit with a major blow as summer signing Eden Hazard has been ruled out after fracturing an ankle against Levante. Belgium boss Roberto Martinez has said the former Chelsea man will miss at least three months, per AS (h/t ESPN's Adriana Garcia).
Hazard has only made 15 appearances in all competitions for Real Madrid in his debut season in Spain but has still had a positive impact, as highlighted by Opta:
OptaJose @OptaJose
53,3% – Real Madrid win percentage without @hazardeden10 since he joined the club (1,9 goals per game), compared to 61,9% with him (2,2 goals per game), all comps. Worry https://t.co/SYVaeGYhgE
Zidane does not lack for attacking options to come Hazard. The most likely candidates are Isco, Gareth Bale, Vinicius Jr. or Rodrygo, but Luka Jovic, James Rodriguez and Lucas Vazquez are also options.
Karim Benzema is a certain starter in attack but has hit a dry patch. The Frenchman has 18 goals in all competitions in 2019-20 but has gone four games without finding the back of the net and missed three clear chances against Levante.
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois also failed to shine at the weekend. The Belgium international appeared to pull his hands away from Jose Luis Morales' shot that flew into the back of the net for the winner.
Courtois has otherwise had a strong season and boasts a good record in Europe:
UEFA Champions League @ChampionsLeague
🚫 Thibaut Courtois has 14 clean sheets in 38 #UCL games 🙌
@thibautcourtois | @realmadriden https://t.co/OAxIIXJAeD
Zidane has told reporters Manchester City will head to the Bernabeu with “extra motivation” after being handed a two-season ban from UEFA club competition for breaching financial fair play (FFP) rules.
Pep Guardiola's side cruised into the knockout stages by topping Group C without tasting defeat against Atalanta, Shakhtar Donetsk and Dinamo Zagreb.
Yet they have never won a knockout game away in Spain in UEFA competition and were thrashed 4-0 by Barcelona on their last trip to Spain in the Champions League.
The visitors should have key men Raheem Sterling and Aymeric Laporte available for Wednesday's clash which will be a boost, per Stuart Brennan at the Manchester Evening News:
Stuart Brennan @StuBrennanMEN
Pep says Sterling will be fit for Wednesday – and there is no problem with Laporte despite substitution #MCFC
Manchester City's hopes of retaining their Premier League title have disappeared, which means the Champions League is their top priority. This may be a good time to play Los Blancos, but the visitors will still need to produce one of their best performances of the season to take a positive result away.
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