In the last quarterfinal tie of this year’s Champions League, Manchester City and Lyon will square off for a ticket to face Bayern Munich in the semifinal. Having watched the Bavarians destroy Barcelona yesterday, whoever comes out victorious in tonight’s encounter will know that it has a daunting task at hand in the last four.
Lyon, obviously still buoyed by their triumph over Juventus, will fancy their chances going into the game. Both sides actually met in the group stages two seasons ago and if those meetings are anything to go by, then Lyon’s confidence may have just gone up a notch. The French side actually beat Manchester City 2-1 on their own turf before playing out a 2-2 draw in France.
On the other hand, The Citizens knocked out perennial winners Real Madrid over two legs in the last round, so they also have every reason to believe that they will advance to the semis for the first time since 2016 where they were defeated by Real Madrid.
Pep Guardiola has previously joked that he would be nothing more than a “failure” if he fails to win the competition during his time with City, and on the face of it, there is no better time to lift the famous trophy than this season.
After finishing second in the Premier League and exiting the FA Cup at the semi-final stage, Guardiola knows that there is even more weight on his shoulders to go all the way this time around.
However, he will once again, be unable to call on Sergio Aguero who is still recovering from Injury after surgery in Barcelona. Given Gabriel Jesus’ recent form, Aguero may not be really missed in Lisbon.
Lyon has everyone fit and eligible with the exception of Youssouf Kone. Tonight may represent an audition for Houssem Aouar who’s reportedly a subject of interest from Manchester City amongst other top clubs.
So will we witness a major upset tonight or will Manchester City take another firm step towards correcting its recent European woes and set up one hell of a game against Bayern Munich? The game kicks off at 8 P.M (GMT)
