The International Champions Cup continues on Thursday with another showpiece friendly between two of Europe’s biggest clubs, as Manchester City take on Real Madrid.
Former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola will face off against his former adversaries, now managed by Zinedine Zidane.
Real Madrid are one of the most successful teams in the history of club football and are the current holders of both the Champions League and La Liga titles.
Both sides head to Los Angeles having lost their first games in the tournament, both against Manchester United. Real Madrid lost that game on penalties after Casemiro missed the all important spot kick and Manchester City were beaten 2-0 on a night new goalkeeper Ederson will be keen to forget. The £35m summer signing was at fault for the first goal as he rushed out of his box before missing the ball and allowing Romelu Lukaku to fire the ball into an empty net.
Team News
Pep Guardiola will welcome new boys Danilo and Benjamin Mendy into his squad for Thursday’s game and the two new signings could make their debuts in a new look defence alongside Kyle Walker and Ederson.
One player likely to miss out though is David Silva who will be assessed closer to kick off to see if he is fit enough to play. Summer signing Bernardo Silva has not travelled with the squad to America as Guardiola has allowed him an extended summer break following his involvement in the Confederations Cup this summer.
Real Madrid will also be without a Portuguese star, as their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo is also still on holiday following his exploits with his country in this summers Confederations Cup tournament. Other than that, Real Madrid have a clean bill of health and Zidane will be keen to pick up a win this time around, so expect to see a strong line up from the off for the Spanish champions.
Betting Tips
Ladbrokes have installed Real Madrid as favourites to win the game in 90 minutes and if you want to bet on the Spanish side then you can get odds of 10/11 for them to win. Manchester City on the other hand are available at 13/5 or 4/5 for City or the draw. A bet that looks tempting is Both Teams to Score in First Half at 5/2 (Ladbrokes).
Both teams will be looking to get off to a fast start in this game and the first 25 minutes of friendly games, before the drinks break is usually played at a higher tempo than the rest of the match. Therefore, I’d be putting some money on Both Teams to Score in First Half at those odds.