This is one of those matchups where waiting for lineups matters so much. This has been advertised all week as the "Kylian Mbappe versus Erling Haaland Ultimate Matchup". Well, Mbappe is injured, and is on the bench. We also see Arda Guler on the bench as well. There's a chance they both sub in during the second half, but missing two key players for a chunk of the match has me leaning on an inform, and terrifying Manchester City side. Look at Man City over 1.5 TT here as well, but due to these injuries, I'm backing City to win on the road.

Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso is under huge pressure after his team lost 2-0 to Celta Vigo at the weekend. Los Blancos have just 1 win from their last 5 league games, and they're now 4 points below Barcelona in La Liga. They were poor when losing to Liverpool in the Champions League last month, and they could struggle against Man City. Pep Guardiola's men are on a three-game winning streak, and Erling Haaland is on fire right now.

So, how much has really changed since last February when Real Madrid dominated City over two legs? Plenty, some might say, as the Bernabeu crew seems to be headed into crisis with rumors swirling that Zinedine Zidane might be brought back to replace beleaguered Xabi Alonso behind the bench. Still, not sure how much fundamentally has changed in ten months, as City looked slow as it tried to cope with Real Madrid's speed and Kylian Mbappe in particular; Mbappe (tops in the UCL with nine goals) is iffy on Wednesday, which opens the door for Vinicius, whose pace could prove more of an issue. Even with the distractions at the Bernabeu, matchups still look dicey for City. Play Real Madrid on ML