Manchester City to face Real Madrid in Champions League play-off round

Manchester City will face current holders Real Madrid in the Champions League play-offs. 

The pair were matched against each other at Friday's offical draw after both sides failed to automatically qualify for the competition's knockout stages. 

Odds Now's Brad Walker (@brad_TWalker) takes a closer look at the match-up ahead of the first leg at the Etihad Stadium on February 11th.

It's fair to say neither of these sides would have been satisfied with a finish among the play-off places when the League Phase first kicked off back in September. 

Real Madrid's Champions League campaign particularly took a while to get going after Carlo Ancelotti's side lost three of their opening five matches in the competition. 

Los Blancos looked in danger of an embarrassing early exit before refinding their feet and winning their final three matches to secure an 11th-placed finish. 

Meanwhile, 2023 winners City got off to a decent start in Europe, taking seven points from a possible nine. 

However, Pep Guardiola's side began to unravel in November and were handed a damning 4-1 away to defeat at Sporting Lisbon. 

Two more losses followed in their next three before the English champions were able to scrape through to the play-offs with a 3-1 comeback victory at home to Brugge in their final game. 

Can City stop Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappe? 

France forward Mbappe made his long-awaited arrival at the Bernabeu but took a while to find his feet in the Spanish capital. 

Nevertheless, the 26-year-old is finally up and running in Madrid white and has marked himself as one of the continent's most in-form players. 

Mbappe has returned an impressive eight goals in his last six appearances in all competitions and will be slavering at the sight of this uncertain City defence. 

Guardiola's men have kept just four clean sheets in their last 21 matches, largely due to a lack of protection in midfield. 

The momentum undoubtedly lies with Madrid ahead of the first leg next month. (Photo credit: Alamy Images)

An injury to Ballon D'or Rodri was a huge blow, with the rest of City's midfielders struggling to plug the gap vacated by the Spaniard. 

Replacements Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan lack the energy needed to compete at the top level, leaving an already fragile backline alarmingly exposed. 

For all their dominance during Guardiola's reign, City have consistently found themselves at the mercy of being hit on the counter-attack, a trend which has severely hampered them on all fronts. 

Add in Madrid's resurgence in form to the mix and it's hard to envisage the English side navigating a way to the knockout stages. 

Not only have the reigning champions won 12 of their last 14 in all competitions, but Ancelotti's crop are also scoring goals for fun.

Madrid have scored at least three goals in six of their last seven games and averaged 2.5 goals a game in the League Phase. 

The Spanish side also knocked City out of this competition when they met last season.

Brad Walker's Manchester City vs Real Madrid Champions League play-off best bet

Ultimately, it's hard to make a case for City to go through given everything we've seen from them in recent months. 

They look a shadow of their former selves and while they have strengthened during the January window, questions remain over whether those recruitments have enough to push this ageing squad over the line. 

Compare with the youthful exuberance flowing freely through these Madrid squad and getting the Spaniards at a more than fair 4/5 to qualify for the knockouts holds plenty of value. 

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