The Champions League group stage returns on Tuesday with a dream matchup.

Manchester City, the champion of England, meets Real Madrid, the champion of Spain, at the Santiago Bernabeau in front of 80,000 screaming fans. Although this game may look great on paper, neither team has looked like a side that won silverware last season.

After four rounds of La Liga, the unthinkable has happened. Real Madrid is in the latter half of the table and eight points back of table-toppers Barcelona. Eight points is a massive deficit when considering Real Madrid only dropped 14 points all of last season en route to winning the Spanish league. Some in Spain are already etching Barcelona’s name on the trophy. Even with 34 rounds to go, that’s probably not a bad bet.

Despite a dismal display last weekend, Real Madrid is still unbeaten at the Santiago Bernabeu for the 2012-13 campaign. In three matches, los blancos have managed two wins and one draw, including an impressive 2-1 win over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. Real Madrid at home is tough to beat, and Manchester City is shaky on the road.

City is unbeaten in four Premier League matches, but the Citizens have yet to record an away win. The defending English Premier League champion has developed a habit of falling behind, and three of Man City’s four Premiership matches have required the Blues to claw back from a deficit and recover points.

Regardless of either team’s recent form, both teams possess supreme talent. This type of marquee fixture is exactly what gives Europe’s premier club competition its name. The champion of England versus the champion of Spain to kick of the 2012-13 Champions League group play … brilliant!

Predictions

AccuScore.com performed computer simulations based on team and player statistics to predict a variety of outcomes for Tuesday’s match. With Real Madrid having a strong home record, the computer gives the Spaniards a significant advantage at 50 percent to win.



Cristiano Ronaldo leads all players with a 61-percent probability of impacting the scoreboard. The Portuguese winger has three goals in his last two appearances at the Bernabeau. Gonzalo Higuain is next most likely to score at 43 percent.

On the other side of the ball, Carlos Tevez is Manchester City’s most likely player to score at 37 percent. With Edin Dzeko close to 30 percent to net and Samir Nasri nearly 20 percent to be on target, Manchester City is 27 percent to win. The draw occurs 23 percent of the time.

Predicted final score

Real Madrid 2, Manchester City 1

