Pep Guardiola looks to lead Manchester City into the club’s first ever Champions League final as the ‘Cityzens’ welcome Paris Saint Germain to the Etihad.
City waltzed past Les Parisiens 2-1 thanks to a crucial pair of away goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez, before tempers boiled as Idrissa Gueye was dismissed from proceedings.
Should City take advantage of their aggregate lead, Guardiola’s side could win seven Champions League fixtures in a row, breaking a record for the longest winning streak by an English side in the competition.
However, the Spanish manager has failed to reach the final of the prestigious competition in his last three attempts.
🗣"We arrive in a new moment."
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has said every year is different in the Champions League, after missing out on the final in his last 3 attempts as a manager pic.twitter.com/GQqZxU7C2F
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 4, 2021
The reigning Ligue 1 champions fell short of a winner’s medal last season, losing 1-0 to Bundesliga powerhouses Bayern Munich.
The home side are currently unbeaten in all four of the previous European meetings with the French outfit; their last win against the visitors came in 2016.
However, with star-studded talent like Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in Pochettino’s armoury, PSG will be looking to lift their first European trophy since 1996.
Form
Manchester City – LWWWW
PSG – WWWLW
Team News
Manchester City
Fellow Spaniard Eric Garcia is Guardiola’s only absentee ahead of the second leg, suffering from a fever.
John Stones is back in contention having missed City’s win at Crystal Palace on Saturday due to suspension.
PSG
Mbappe missed PSG’s 2-1 win over Lens at the weekend in Ligue 1 due to a calf injury. He remains a doubt.
Colin Dagba picked up an injury at the weekend against Lens with a calf injury.
Gueye is out of contention due to suspension after he was shown a red card for a dangerous challenge on Ilkay Gundogan in the first leg.
Gueye sent off for this tackle on Gundogan 😬 #PSGMCI pic.twitter.com/Lg0c6gz25B
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) April 28, 2021
Predicted Starting XI
Manchester City
Ederson; Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Joao Cancelo; Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan; Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva.
PSG
Keylor Navas; Alessandro Florenzi, Marquinhos, Presenel Kimpembe, Mitchel Bakker; Leandro Paredes, Marco Verrati, Andera Herrera; Neymar, Angel Di Maria, Kylian Mbappe.
How to watch?
Kick-off is at 8:00pm GMT on Tuesday 4th May and the game will be televised on BT Sport 2; the programme starts at 7:00pm GMT.
