Manchester City take on Real Madrid in a crucial play-off first-leg this Tuesday, in a battle for a place in the last round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Manchester City head into this match fresh off a 2-1 win over Leyton Orient in the fourth round of the FA Cup, while a result that wasn't expected to be that close, the Cityzens still got the job done and booked their place in the next round.
Real Madrid come off a 1-1 draw against rivals Atletico Madrid in the La Liga. While they weren't able to get the win in the derby, Madrid remain at the top of the table just one point ahead of Atletico and two of Barcelona.
In eight UCL fixtures, Man City won three, lost three and drew two - which led to them finishing on 22nd place. Real Madrid won five, lost three and drew none - their final ranking being 11th.
On matchday eight of the League phase, Manchester City claimed a 3-1 victory over Club Brugge, which saved them from elimination. While Real Madrid were 3-0 winners over Stade Brest.
This week, the first installment of their awaited fixture arrives, with the second leg scheduled to take place next Wednesday. One of the competition's favourites at the start of the season is set for a shocking early exit and the other will join the eight qualified teams to make up the round of six, along with the other play-off clubs.
Pep Guardiola ahead of the match
"We are where we are, and I know perfectly but the team has something special and hopefully Tuesday we can prove it. I know what we are capable of."
"In football, you have to deserve it - we do not deserve it. We were not even close. That's why when the draw was either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, I thought that is what we deserve."
"Of course, it would be important. We would be in the next round. We achieved trebles and quadruples and we see how difficult it is. It is because we were a machine. Doesn't matter what happened, we were there."
"It would be good for the club to be in this competition - I like to feel we are there but now, I know the gameplan."
The boss then moved on to talk about the potential starting line-up and the status of injured players.
"I still have doubts about the selection - we still have injuries, I am always optimistic and calm. We will see what happens."
"Two years ago in the year of the treble, (John Stones) helped us in many different ways. For the last three months, he hasn't played 90 minutes and the last two games he played without pain. That's really good because his presence is important."
"Ruben (Dias) again is back, he played 45 minutes. We will see how many players we can recover for the next game."
New recruit Nico Gonzalez sustained am injury during their FA Cup match, Pep answered the question about him being fit and ready anytime soon, "I hope so. We have a few days, we will see."
Champions League play-off ties
- Stade Brest vs Paris Saint-Germain - Tuesday, the 11th at 17:45 (UK)
- Juventus vs PSV Eindhoven - Tuesday the 11th at 20:00 (UK)
- Sporting Lisbon vs Dortmund - Tuesday, the 11th at 20:00 (UK)
- Manchester City vs Real Madrid - Tuesday, the 11th at 20:00 (UK)
- Atalanta vs Club Brugge - Wednesday, the 12th at 17:45 (UK)
- Monaco vs Benfica - Wednesday, the 12th at 20:00 (UK)
- celtic vs Bayern Munich - Wednesday, the 12th at 20:00 (UK)
- Feyenoord vs AC Milan - Wednesday, the 12th at 20:00 (UK)