A near-perfect performance in the first leg has put Manchester City on the brink of reaching its second Champions League quarterfinal. FC Basel will aiming to put up a better fight in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium. City was the favourite to go through from this tie, but Basel, which had registered a 1-0 home win against Manchester United on matchday five, was expected to make City work hard at least.
Read: Not good to compare Manchester City to Barcelona, says Guardiola
Since losing to City at home three weeks ago, Basel has lost both its domestic matches, one in the league (to FC St. Gallen) and one in the Swiss Cup (to Young Boys). The last time Basel scored a goal was nearly a month ago, in a 2-0 win over FC Thun. Its overall form has been on the wane since returning to action from the winter break. Manchester City, needless to say, has kept going from strength to strength and the healthy four-goal cushion may prompt Pep Guardiola to rest a few of his key personnel.
Team news
Guardiola said that Fernandinho and Raheem Sterling may return against Stoke City next Monday. Benjamin Mendy, who has been out of action since September last year, has returned to action, though he is probably a couple of weeks away from returning to action.
For Basel, central defender Eder Balenta is injured, while Taulant Xhaka is suspended.
Possible formations and line-ups
Man City is expected to line up in a 4-1-4-1 (4-3-3) formation, with a few of its key players potentially being rested.
Possible Man City starting line-up (4-1-4-1): Ederson (GK); Danilo, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Fabian Delph/Oleksandr Zinchenko; Ilkay Gundogan; Yaya Toure, Phil Foden/Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Leroy Sane/Brahim Diaz; Gabriel Jesus
Possible FC Basel starting XI (3-4-3): Tomas Vaclik (GK); Leo Lacroix, Marek Suchy, Michael Lang; Serey Die, Fabian Frei, Raoul Petretta, Mohammed Elyounoussi; Valentin Stocker, Albian Ajeti/Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Dimitri Oberlin
Stats
- Man City has a chance to reach its second Champions League quarterfinal, its first coming in the 2015-16 season
- Only Barcelona has managed to overturn a 4-0 deficit from the first leg in Champions League history
- Man City is unbeaten at home in all competitions this season
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