Man City and Liverpool played out an enthralling 2-2 draw in the Premier League on Sunday but Pep Guardiola will have very little time to sit back and analyse this match because they have a key European tie coming up in midweek.
Man City head to Spain to take on Atletico Madrid in the 2nd leg of the Champions League quarter-final and Guardiola’s side go into this tie with a crucial 1-0 lead. There are obviously no away goals so the home team are very much in this tie and we expect Atleti to be a lot more adventurous than they usually are.
Atletico Madrid played with a lot of caution in the 1st leg but since they are trailing 1-0, the onus is now on them to claw back this deficit. This means the Spanish side will have to ditch their ultra-defensive approach and come on the front foot and this might eventually play things in the hands of Pep Guardiola.
Man City will be high on confidence after the 2-2 draw against Liverpool and we expect them to have a slight edge in midweek. The tie though is far from over because Simeone is a manager who is very well versed in forcing teams to make unwanted mistakes by frustrating them.
Man City team news vs Atletico Madrid:
The manager is obviously with Ruben Dias who is out with a hamstring injury and also Cole Palmer who is recovering from a foot problem but other than that, Pep has a fully fit squad.
Aymeric Laporte and John Stones should take the pitch in central defence vs Atleti despite the latter being a bit average on Sunday.
De Bruyne ran the show against Liverpool this weekend so he along with Rodri will reprise their roles but this time around, we expect to see Gundogan in the first XI.
Proud of my team! 💙 pic.twitter.com/RINZ4wJQH2
— Kevin De Bruyne (@DeBruyneKev) April 10, 2022
Bernardo Silva was chosen ahead of Gundogan this weekend and since Man City face Liverpool once again next weekend, this time in the FA Cup, Guardiola is definitely going to rest Silva.
Riyad Mahrez missed a massive injury-time chance for Manchester City but he is going to come into the starting line up on Wednesday night, replacing Raheem Sterling.
Sterling was really poor against Liverpool so he is likely to move to the bench with Jack Grealish coming into the side and operating on the left flank.
Gabriel Jesus will make way for Phil Foden who is going to play as the false nine.
Unfortunately we didn't get this important win, but great game everyone. Let's keep fighting! 🙏🏽💪🏽🤙🏾#gratidão#alômãe#doperi pic.twitter.com/RA4BZwYE71
— Gabriel Jesus (@gabrieljesus9) April 10, 2022
Man City’s possible tactics:
Against Liverpool, the Man City manager quite surprisingly chose to ditch his favoured false-nine system and went with a very conventional 4-3-3.
Gabriel Jesus was the one who was playing up front on Sunday but for their trip to the Wanda Metropolitano, Guardiola is more than likely to revert to his usual self.
Phil Foden is the most likely to reprise his role as the false nine but in the 1st leg, it was Bernardo Silva who played in that position so that also remains an option for the Man City boss.
Key Stats:
Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in four home games but they haven’t been able to score in their last two matches.
Man City are unbeaten in their previous 12 away matches.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been able to keep a clean sheet in their previous three Champions League ties.
Recent form:
Atletico Madrid: WWWLL
Man City: DWWWD
Prediction:
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Man City
Kick-off details:
Timing: Wednesday, 13th April at 20:00 BST
Venue: Wanda Metropolitano
Referee: Daniel Siebert
Broadcast:
UK – BBC Radio 5 Live, BTSport.com, BT Sport App, BT Sport 2, BT Sport Ultimate
India – JioTV, Sony LIV
USA – TUDN App, TUDNxtra, Univision, Paramount+, Univision NOW, TUDN.com, TUDN USA
Read: Pep Guardiola explains why he ditched his usual tactics and used a new one against Liverpool.
Read: Man City players’ ratings vs Liverpool.
Read: Liverpool players’ ratings vs Man City.
Match timings and details courtesy Man City’s official website.
