Champions League Predictions: Man Utd vs Real Madrid

Chris Wright

5th, March 2013

11 Comments

By Chris Wright

The hour is nearly upon when the game “the world world will stop to watch” (© Jose Mourinho) kicks off at Old Trafford, with Real Madrid circus rolling into town for the second leg of the Champions League last 16 tie against Manchester United.

With the first leg finishing 1-1 at the Bernabeu a fortnight ago, the second is truly poised uponst the edge of something fantastically sharp – say…a knife or something like that, United with the away goal and all.

While we’re on the subject, here are Pies’ Top 10 Conclusions from the first leg should you fancy another butcher’s.

Of course there are many intriguing subplots to tantalise and tease (Sir Alex vs Mourinho for one) but the headlines are Cristiano Ronaldo’s to make on his return to his former stomping ground, with all and sundry pontificating on just how United are going to stop him from running wild on their asses.

With “Operation: Phil Jones Gurn Blitz” off the cards due to injury, Ferguson himself has suggested that he’s planning to nix his former protege with either A: a machete, or B: a machine gun, which probably tells you all you need to know about just how worried about Ronaldo’s “maximum attack” mode coming back to haunt him – and that’s on top of Madrid’s already strong suit.

Ronaldo will undoubtedly be singled out and man-marked to the hilt, but it’s still hard to see him not scoring, no? At the other end, United have a fairly formidable attacking stable of their own, so a clean slate is probably not a-transpirin’ here.

As with the first leg, we see Madrid dominating with United soaking up pressure and possession for long spells after coming out of the blocks flying – perhaps nabbing an early goal.

Anyway, that’s enough spiel. Let’s get down to the mucky business of predictions.

Pies says:  Man Utd 1-2 Real Madrid on the night, Madrid win 2-3 overall.

You say?

Posted in Betting & predictions, Champions League, Man Utd, Newsnow, Opinion, Real Madrid

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11 Comments

  1. Davy says:

    I just have a feeling Man Utd are going to nick it…I’m going 2-1 to Man Utd, either that or a boring 0-0 and Man Utd go through

  2. George says:

    “Operation: Phil Jones Gurn Blitz”. Amazing.

  3. Matt says:

    3-0 to Man U, I can see it panning out like the Celtic-Juve First Leg, Clinical United taking every chance they get, which will probably be limited to three

  4. Bangolero says:

    You can’t have predictions that are “I think this will happen, or if not, then that will happen, or else …”
    I don’t think that’s quite how the ancient wizards and prognosticators went about their work. You didn’t get place bets when you were sorting out the chicken entrails – you had to stake it all on one result. “Romans to win” kind of thing. None of this “unless the Carthaginians get an early breakthrough in which case the flanks could be weak and we’ll get plundered.”
    So, with that classical motif ringing in everyone’s ears, I’ll go for Real getting a dodgy penalty (to Sir AF’s immense and complexion-bursting fury) early on. CR will score it. United will fight like veritable Trojans, Gauls, Huns, Visigoths etc throughout the rest of the match and get an equaliser v. late on (say, 85th minute. Giggs? No, that’s too much of a fairy-tale.). And then, late in Fergy-time, Real will sink a confused scramble of a goal in to De Gea’s onion bag.
    Result: Utd 1 – 2 Real

    And Utd go out with Sir AF extolling their fighting spirit, how proud he is at their attitude, bemoaning how they were cheated by the penalty, how the second Real goal was after extra-time should have been finished, etc etc

  5. Bruno says:

    Pies says United will lose. Great, now I’m sure United will win it.

  6. Graham says:

    United will progress, that much I am fairly certain.
    Real didn’t strike me as all that impressive by the end of the first leg, and only some unusually poor finishing from United saved Mourinho’s men.

    United to win outright, 3-2 on aggregate.

  7. Jake says:

    Nailed it, you’re an effing stud.

  8. nick says:

    i think it will be 2-1 real …but i also just finished watching the game.

  9. Cristiano says:

    perfection.

  10. Mitchell says:

    PIES ARE MAGIC.

  11. Vasko says:

    Good call. As a United fan it hurts me to see such a good game ruined by a ridiculous red card though. United were the better side until then.

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