Steve McManaman believes Manchester City are on course to land a second consecutive treble after surviving last week's battle of the Bernabeu.
Pep Guardiola's all-conquering team will lock horns with Real Madrid for a place in the Champions League semi-finals at the Etihad on Wednesday night with the tie finely poised at 3-3 after an enthralling first leg in Spain.
City finally went on to break their Champions League duck last year after trouncing Los Blancos in a one-sided semi-final. And McManaman, who starred for both clubs during his illustrious playing career, reckons they are the red-hot favourites to progress at Real's expense again.
McManaman, who was talking to mark the launch of Panini’s Official England Sticker Collection, said: "I said before that I thought Real Madrid needed to take a couple of goals back to the Etihad in order to qualify. It's 3-3 so City have to be big favourites.
"They are the holders, they're the team in form and are back on top of the Premier League. If they win at the Etihad, they're through.
"They scored four against Real Madrid two years ago and they scored four last year against Real Madrid too. I think it will be difficult for Real Madrid again when you look at the two teams and what's happened in the past.
"Madrid will be better next year. They've added Jude [Bellingham] but once you really get into their squad, Madrid are not as strong as Manchester City."
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City also lifted the Premier League and the FA Cup last year to achieve the improbable and are in pole position to land all three trophies again as the current campaign draws to a close. While few believed such a feat was actually possible, McManaman insists that he always felt City were capable of going back-to-back.
He added: "I fully expected City to be near the top of the league and I think we all expected them to get to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. This is where the Champions League really starts now, though. This is the part of the competition where only the top teams are left.
"It's no surprise that Pep and City are still fighting for these trophies. You expect the top teams to be at this stage of the Champions League and near the top of their leagues because if not, there's a major problem going on."
The Official England Sticker Collection Tournament Edition 2024, with 100% official kits and 387 stickers to collect, is available now at panini.co.uk/englandstickers and retailers nationwide.
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