Manchester City will discover who they will face in the quarter-finals of the Champions League when the draw is made at Nyon's UEFA headquarters at 11am GMT on Friday morning.
City booked their place in the last-eight of the competition with a comfortable triumph over Portuguese heavyweights Sporting Lisbon. After winning the first-leg 5-0 in Portugal, Pep Guardiola's side were forced to settle for a goalless draw in the return-leg at the Etihad Stadium, meaning they progressed as comfortable 5-0 victors.
City reached the final of the competition last season, before losing 1-0 to Chelsea, and will be determined to go the full distance and lift their maiden Champions League crown this time around. They are one of the leading favourites to lay their hands on the trophy but will face competition from several big-name clubs who will be in the pot this morning.
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Nevertheless, City will fancy their chances of beating anyone. Boss Guardiola won the Champions League with Barcelona and it remains pretty much the only trophy he has not won since arriving at the Etihad Stadium in 2016.
Unlike in the last-16, the draw this time around is unseeded, meaning anyone could be pitted up against anyone in the quest to reach the semi-finals. That means, for example, City could be forced to face Premier League rivals Chelsea or Liverpool.
But even if they avoid a showdown with Thomas Tuchel's Blues or Liverpool, City could still face a clash with either Bayern or Real Madrid. Therefore, the draw promises to produce some interesting exciting ties, with the final in Paris moving ever closer.
And that is exactly what happened when we ran a draw simulation ahead of the real draw using a simulator. MEN Sport has done a simulation of the quarter-final draw and it has produced some exciting-looking fixtures, including a battle between City and Real Madrid.
That would be a gigantic tie between two of the competition's favourites. Madrid produced a stunning comeback to reach the last-eight earlier this month, recovering from 2-0 down on aggregate to beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-2, courtesy of a breathtaking Karim Benzema hat-trick in the second-leg.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have been pitted up against Atletico Madrid. The Anfield club knocked Inter Milan out in the last round whilst Atletico got the better of Manchester United, winning the tie 2-1 on aggregate.
Elsewhere, the simulation has handed Chelsea the challenge of overcoming Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, Villarreal, fresh from stunning Juventus, will lock horns with Benfica.
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Simulation in full:
Manchester City vs Real Madrid
Villarreal vs Benfica
Bayern Munich vs Chelsea
Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid
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