Real Madrid vs. Man City Betting Tips: Best bets for Champions League clash

Defending champions Real Madrid host Man City at the Bernabeu in the first-leg of what promises to be an absorbing Champions League semi-final between two of the best teams in Europe.

Tipster Wizard previews the action and picks out his two best bets...

The current Champions League holders eased past Chelsea in the quarter-finals 4-0 on aggregate to set up this blockbuster clash against the Champions of England Manchester City.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men have had a disappointing season in the league as they sit 3rd in the La Liga standings but they were crowned winners of the Copa Del Ray this past weekend as they beat Osasuna 2-1 in the final.

As for the visitors, they are the most in-form team in the whole of Europe at the moment as they stretched their unbeaten run to 20 games at the weekend.

Despite all their domination in recent seasons, this is the trophy they have still not managed to put their hands on and it was the same opposition that knocked them out of last year’s competition in dramatic fashion.

With their star striker Erling Haaland in supreme goalscoring form, they will be out for revenge here and we could be in for a mouth-watering contest with two of Europe’s elite clubs going head to head.

A blockbuster Champions League clash awaits us and as usual, I have you covered with two of my best betting angles included in the preview below:

Team News:

Ferland Mendy is out injured while key defender Eder Militao is suspended.

Cole Palmer is out for Manchester City while Nathan Ake is doubtful.

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, Camavinga; Valverde, Kroos, Modric; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr

Man City possible starting lineup:

Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland

Bet Builder Selections:

• Rodri Over 1.5 tackles in the match
• Vinicius Junior Over 0.5 shots in the match
• Over 0.5 offsides in the match for Real Madrid

Rodri is averaging 2.1 tackles for Man City in the Champions League this season and will have a tough job of going up against the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.

He managed four tackles against Madrid last season at the Bernabeu and I can comfortably see him getting at least two here.

As for the shots, Vinicius is averaging 3.4 shots per game in the Champions League this season and registered three and two shots in the two legs against Manchester City last season.

Finally, Madrid will look to take advantage of City’s high defensive line and hit them on the counter which could see their players get caught offside.

They were caught offside three times in this fixture last season so adding just one offside to bump up the odds for our Bet Builder makes sense.

Combining these three selections gives us a solid Bet Builder at 5/6 and I am happy to stake 1pt on that as our main bet for this game.

Vinicius has the most assists for Real Madrid in both La Liga (nine) and the Champions League (five).

He is in sublime form having registered five assists in his last six appearances for Real Madrid, and at 11/4 I am happy to take this selection with a small 0.25pt stake as our second bet for this game.