The draw for the next round of the Champions League knockout stages took place on Friday morning. Pep Guardiola was set to find out his opponents in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Manchester City joined Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Villarreal, Benfica, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the draw. Every team would offer a different tactical challenge for Guardiola's men to overcome, with some more suited to causing problems than others.
As each team was revealed, the English champions were drawn against Atletico Madrid. City will play the first leg at the Etihad before concluding the tie in the second leg away from home.
Atleti are currently placed fourth in the Spanish top-flight, after finishing at the top of the table last season. They have the third-best attack in the division at the moment according to goals scored but surprisingly, the 12th-best defence.
Under Diego Simeone, the Spanish champions are renowned for their defensive stability, organisation and aggressive nature but this season, they haven't been anywhere near as watertight as usual.
Upon inspection of the underlying numbers attached to their campaign, it seems Jan Oblak is to blame rather than any struggles relating to their behaviour as a cohesive unit without the ball.
No team in La Liga faces fewer shots per match than Atleti, and their Expected Goals Against per match is also the lowest in the division. Those numbers suggest that it is difficult to generate opportunities against Simeone's men.
However, they have conceded a large amount of goals because Oblak hasn't performed to his typically elite standard between the sticks.
The Slovakian goalkeeper has saved just 38 of the 68 shots on target that he's faced in La Liga this season, which leaves him with a damning save percentage of just 54.4%. For perspective, that figure places him bottom against his peers.
According to Expected Goals, Oblak has faced shots worth roughly 24.2 goals, yet he's managed to concede a total of 34, excluding own-goals. Those numbers indicate that he's underperformed expectation by around 9.8 goals, which is the second-biggest underperformance across Europe's top five leagues this season.
Atleti are still very much their stubborn, dogged and defensive selves, but they haven't been able to deliver results to their usual level in La Liga due to their goalkeeping problems. If Oblak can regain his form, it could be a tough draw for City to navigate.
Once considering the nature of the Etihad side, Simeone's men will pose the ultimate challenge. Guardiola's outfit are obsessed with possession, but Atleti will almost welcome such a playing style. They are accustomed to thriving without the ball before initiating dangerous counter-attacks.
Manchester United were knocked out of the tournament by Atleti in the last round, and Liverpool also suffered at the hands of Simeone two years ago. Moreover, Atleti knocked out Guardiola's Bayern Munich side in 2016.
City are used to facing a defensive block of players every week in the Premier League but in the Spanish champions, their ability to find openings and ways to score will be tested to the highest level.
The best possession-based team in the world are set to face the best deep-defending team in the world, and it promises to be an intriguing tactical battle.
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