Real Madrid are far from where they were expected to be this season, but at least they are first in La Liga and have had a more consistent season. It is City who should be wary of the upcoming game as if they do not get a good result at home then the trip to Spain could be hopeless before the game. It will be interesting to see how Pep gets out of this situation.
Real Madrid performance this season has not been as consistent as expected, failing to automatically qualify for the last 16 indicates that there are shortcomings in their performance compared to last season. On the other hand, Guardiola has prepared his squad to face Real Madrid, in his last game against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup he made a big rotation to maintain the fitness of the main players.
In my opinion, Real Madrid will have a hard time in the first leg because
Man City will try to take advantage of the Home game to put pressure on Real Madrid, especially since their defense is not completely solid.
Even as a Real Madrid fan I hope so. In this case the game will be interesting and maybe we will see an epic result like 3-3 again (but that time it was Real's home). But I suppose that Guardiola will play the "safe" option as always. It seems to me that he is one of those coaches who is least suited to prepare a team for life and death games, he can only win in conditions when his club is a big favorite.