Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are both staring at a glorious chapter as they get ready to face each other in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday night at the Etihad Stadium.
Tottenham have a slender 1-0 advantage over City from the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last week but a lot is riding on this second leg.
Manchester City and Pep Guardiola have been under immense pressure this season for Champions League success. Guardiola has guided City to a Premier League title and is on course for the second consecutive title in England but it is the Champions League trophy they crave for.
However, it seems like the pressure of expectations is bogging this team and its manager down as much as the tiredness of the fag end of the season.
Guardiola sometimes looks like he is overthinking and calculating, even though nobody would dare rule City out anytime. When they are in flow, they are a delight to watch.
Tottenham, on the other hand, have enjoyed their new home and have seen success in the initial days there which has given them confidence.
However, on Wednesday, they will be at the Etihad and they have a mountain to climb. With injuries hanging like a sword at their head, Mauricio Pochettino has a lot of thinking to do.
The focus will once again be on their Asian star Son Heung-min, who has stepped up big time this season in the absence of Harry Kane. He will be required to do the same if Tottenham are to advance to the semis.
LIVE STREAM
Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur will be live streamed on Sony LIV in India. The match will be televised on Sony TEN Network which is why their application will see the live stream of it. Sony LIV has now made their live sports network a paid one, so a subscription to the website is mandatory.
The match is slated for 12.30am IST start.
PREDICTIONS
Pep Guardiola is expected to miss the services of two players mainly, Fernandinho and Oleksandr Zinchenko. While Fernandinho might not be able to shake off the muscle injury on time, Zinchenko has the hamstring issue to attend to.
Critically for City though, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling are both fit and available. Also, after missing the first leg, Bernardo Silva might just be back in the team since he did feature against Crystal Palace.
Manchester City predicted XI: Ederson; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Fabian Delph; Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling
For Spurs, there are major injury issues to handle and it’s going to make everything very tricky for Pochettino.
Kane will be missing the match after getting injured in the first leg. Harry Winks is also set to miss the game after picking up a groin issue in training on Friday.
Dele Alli would be a peculiar case for Spurs. Alli fractured his hand in the first leg but he might as well play with a cast.
Victor Wanyama is most likely to replace Winks in the team.
Tottenham Hotspur predicted XI: Hugo Lloris; Kieran Trippier, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose; Victor Wanyama; Moussa Sissoko, Christian Eriksen; Dele Alli; Lucas Moura, Son Heung-min
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