Man City Sets Out to Overturn Daunting Champions League Deficit to Liverpool
Liverpool heads to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night with one foot already in the Champions League semifinals, after demolishing Pep Guardiola's Manchester City 3-0 in the first leg of this all-British tie.
With nothing to lose now, expect the Citizens to go all out attack for the visit of Jurgen Klopp's side to try and at least save face.
As we all know, anything can happen in cup competition's and the Citizens will be looking to the football gods for a miracle on Tuesday night if they're to progress to the semi finals of the tournament.
First Leg
Liverpool 3-0 Manchester City (April 4, 2018)
Last week was the first time the two sides had met in UEFA competition, and Liverpool shocked the footballing world when they took apart Pep Guardiola's well-oiled machine at Anfield.
Before the game had even begun, it was shrouded in controversy, with a group of Liverpool supporters cowardly attacking the Manchester City team bus as it was arriving at Anfield. City were met with a similar response once inside the stadium, as noise levels were at an all-time high.
Mohamed Salah opened the scoring on the night for the Reds after a frantic first 10 minutes to the game where both sides looked nervous.
After Salah's opener, however, Klopp's side started to go through the gears, making the game their own.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fired in Liverpool's second with a stunning solo effort, and the party at Anfield was in full force.
Liverpool and Sadio Mane added a third before half time, seemingly crushing any hope City had of making the semi final in a disastrous first 45 minutes for Pep Guardiola's side.
The game ended 3-0 to Liverpool, a shock to even the most optimistic of Liverpool fans.
Team News
Klopp has remained relatively quiet on the fitness of Salah and Emre Can ahead of the trip to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.
Joel Matip remains out for the Reds with the long-term injury. Adam Lallana may return to the squad but is unlikely to be anywhere near the starting XI.
Alberto Moreno is also a doubt for the trip to Manchester and will face a late fitness test to decide whether or not he'll be available.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is out of the fixture due to suspension.
Benjamin Mendy remains out for the Citizens with a knee injury that has kept him out the majority of the season.
Sergio Aguero missed the first leg at Anfield but made a return to action in the Manchester derby this weekend and will likely be given the nod to start by Guardiola.
Fabian Delph and John Stones didn't feature at Anfield. However, both could be given a chance at redemption Tuesday night.
Prediction
It's highly unlikely that we'll see any repeat of what happened in the first leg of this fixture and Klopp's side will be looking for a cool and calm performance with one foot already in the semifinals.
After back to back defeats, Guardiola's City have everything to prove, and with the Etihad behind them, they'll be throwing everything they have at Liverpool to try and salvage something from the tie.
As any football fan knows, City are more than capable of causing a massive upset Tuesday night, and if any manager is going to guide them to do so, it's Guardiola.
However, with City having to push forward to recover the three-goal deficit, this will allow Liverpool to counter attack at will, which could result in an abundance of goals from both sides.
Nevertheless, whatever the result ends up being, a British side will have a place in the Champions League semifinals, which we can all agree on, is a good thing for the Premier League.
Prediction: Manchester City 2-2 Liverpool (Liverpool progresses to the semifinals)
