Andy Morrison has predicted whether Manchester City or Real Madrid will win over two legs in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Considering City are not at their best while Los Blancos are far from the team that won Europe’s elite competition two seasons ago, it is a tough time to call.
Also, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti’s sides are arguably the two best teams in the world, at least on paper, which makes them very hard to split.
Earlier, some may have sided with Real Madrid due to their enviable record in Europe.
Andy Morrison predicts whether Manchester City or Real Madrid will win over two legs in the Champions League quarter-final
However, after Manchester City’s treble triumph last season, which included a 5-1 thrashing of the Spanish giants, it would be absurd for any fan or pundit to write off their chances of going through.
Perhaps the only claim that can be made is that Los Merengues will have a nine-day break before facing City at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg.
As for the visitors, they have faced Arsenal and still have to play against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace before travelling to Madrid for the first leg.
Andy Morrison, the current manager of the Sri Lankan national team and former Manchester City captain first predicted his former side to draw 1-1 against Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League.
“A huge game. Real Madrid wouldn’t have wanted us in the quarter-finals, but I guess we’d have liked to have avoided them at this stage as well. Obviously, they’ll see the first leg on home soil as their chance to take advantage of the tie but I see us getting the same result as last season. They’ve only beaten us three times in 10 meetings and I think this will make that stat three in 11”, he told the club’s official digital magazine.
However, Andy Morrison has backed Manchester City to beat Real Madrid 3-1 in the second leg at home.
“The way we swatted Real Madrid aside 4-0 last season will have hurt the Spaniards and they’ll do all they can to avoid a similar outcome. I don’t see this being as emphatic and they may even peg us back at some stage but we’ll be buoyed by a fantastic Etihad atmosphere that will carry us over the line and into the semis.”
Manchester City will win the Champions League if they beat Carlo Ancelotti’s side as convincingly
Over two legs, Andy Morrison expects Manchester City to comprehensively defeat Real Madrid by running out 4-2 winners.
If City do manage to bypass the threat posed by Ancelotti and Co. in such comfortable fashion, in our view, they will go on to retain their Champions League crown.
The confidence boost that dismantling Real Madrid will hand City will be massive and could spur them on to go all the way.
Having beaten Bayern Munich over two legs last season while dominating Arsenal on Sunday, albeit without getting over the line, a route to the final can be quite likely for Manchester City if they progress past Real Madrid.
With the likes of Atletico Madrid, PSG, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund on the other side of the bracket, it would be fair to claim that the English giants are superior teams to all of them.
As a result, a win against Real Madrid over two legs could give City a huge advantage in their quest to retain Europe’s most coveted trophy and make them likely winners.
