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Manchester City v Tottenham Champions League Preview

By David Crook

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 09: Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final first leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 09, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 09: Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final first leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 09, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) /
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Manchester City’s Champions League campaign rests now on a single game. Win by two clear goals and they progress to the Semi Finals for only the second time.

For Manchester City the season is quickly distilling into a series of must win games. The relentless nature of these games and the mental exertions which must surround them for the players and coaching staff will push any group of athletes to their limits. But it is in these small margins between success and failure where champions are decided.

For City to be in this position of needing to win by two goals is their own making. To have gone strongly defensive in the first leg and then to have conceded a goal without reply has placed them under more pressure. Tottenham will relish this challenge because they are more than capable of sneaking a goal on the counter. indeed this is likely to be their whole game plan – to conserve energy and attack on the break.

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Make no mistake if Spurs do add another goal then the whole task gets incrementally harder. We have all sat in these kinds of matches at the Etihad Stadium before where we need to win only to see us go a goal behind. The crowd will play a part on Wednesday night and may need to lift some of those tired City legs on the pitch.

Tottenham come into this game buoyed by the first leg and dripping in belief. They are without their talismanic centre forward Harry Kane after he injured himself in the first leg. Other than that they will be near full strength, having again had a day longer to prepare for the match thanks to the TV schedules.

The loss of Harry Kane may well not change the way they plan to set up in this game. They often look a better side without Kane as they are more solid and built to break quickly with runners looking for the broken press. City though will know the task they have at hand and be keen to do their best to succeed. In many ways this game is feeling a lot like the Monaco clash of a couple of years ago as the ebb and flow of attack will dictate the result.

Guardiola has some difficult decisions to make. Not least in defence – will Mendy play his second game in three days? Will Zinchenko be fit? Will Stones and Laporte be preferred in partnership to contend with the break? In midfield what combination will start? Is Fernandinho fit to play or will Gundogan fill in again? In attack will Sane and Sterling be unleashed?

Whatever happens I suspect we will give a good account of ourselves and that is all we can ask for at this stage of the season. However, I am hoping we will progress to the semi finals and continue this mad dream we all have had.

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Man City Square Predicted Starting XI

Goalkeeper

Ederson

Defence

Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy

Midfield

Fernandinho, Bernardo, De Bruyne

Attack

Sterling, Aguero, Sane

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