Manchester City's Ruben Dias (left) and Joao Cancelo, who is on loan with Bayern Munich (Bradley Collyer/PA)
Manchester City's Ruben Dias (left) and Joao Cancelo, who is on loan with Bayern Munich (Bradley Collyer/PA)
The quarter-final of the Champions League. Manchester City kept on the heels of Arsenal with Saturday's win at Southampton. The same day, Bayern Munich beat Freiburg, 1-0, to stay top of the Bundesliga.
Thomas Tuchel is managing the Germans now. He was in charge of Chelsea when they defeated City in the 2021 Champions League final.
In this year's competition, Bayern won all their Group matches before overcoming PSG in the last 16. Then manager, Julian Nagelsmann, lost his job in the international break when he was on a skiing holiday in Austria.
He was appointed in 2021 and led the club to their tenth successive Bundesliga crown last season. In the game before the international break, Munich lost away to Bayer Leverkusen, slipping a point behind then league leaders, Borussia Dortmund.
City topped Group G. Four wins, two draws. They beat RB Leipzig in the last 16. Drawing 1-1 away and winning 7-0 at home.
Pep Guardiola knows Bayern well. He managed there for three years, winning three Bundesliga titles. He went there after Barcelona, where he secured two Champions Leagues.
Munich have been European champions six times. It's City's sixth successive Champions League quarter-final. It's the prize Pep would love to bring to City. Last season, City were beaten in the semi-final by Real Madrid, who went on to beat Liverpool in the final.
The game kicks-off Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium (8.0).
It's live on RTÉ 2 and BT Sport 1. The match will also be available live on the RTÉ Player. The match will be streamed for free on the LiveScore site and app.
Phil Foden is the only expected absentee for Manchester City as Guardiola boasts almost a full fity squad to choose from.
Guardiola has resisted doing too much tinkering in recent weeks, meaning John Stones could continue in a midfield role. Bernardo Silva is also pushing to be involved.
Bayern Munich need to work out who will be leading the line against City with Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting injured. Thomas Muller and Serge Gnabry are the obvious candidates.
Jamal Musiala is in line to start, but Sadio Mane is in a fight to keep his place. Joao Cancelo is eligable to face his parent club.
Pep Guardiola (Manchester City): "I know from my time at Bayern that they'll come here to win. They won't be waiting for the second leg. All these games are difficult. We'll have to play well over the two legs."
Thomas Tuchel (Bayern Munich): "It's going to be a very tough game for us. City have been in good form. We will have to show courage and play with belief. In football, anything can happen when you believe in yourself. April and May are the months of truth."
Manchester City 2
Bayern Munich 0
Man City win: 8/11
Draw: 3/1
Bayern win: 15/4
Odds via Betfair (subject to change)