Manchester City welcome Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid to the Etihad Stadium in the first leg of their crunch Champions League quarter-final showdown tonight (8pm).
Pep Guardiola and his side are still on course for a historic treble, with two games in two different competitions against Liverpool coming up in the next fortnight. Atleti, meanwhile, come into the game after six consecutive victories, including a 1-0 win to knock Manchester United out of the same competition in the last 16.
City have never faced Atletico before, but know they'll be coming up against one of the most feared defences in Europe, with players that can catch them out on the break — with incredible technical ability and clinical finishing.
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After heartbreak in the Champions League final versus Chelsea last year, Guardiola will want to take the extra step and finally be crowned as a European champion for the third time in his career — he's never done it with City before. But how do pundits feel City will fare against the Spanish giants in the first leg?
Speaking to ESPN, former City player Pablo Zabaleta said: "I'm not worried. I think Man City have been playing some amazing football recently, Champions League is probably for them the biggest competition right now and that race in the Premier League with Liverpool is still really strong. Only one point the difference.
"But the Champions League is what Man City fans, Pep Guardiola, the players, they all want to win. But you have to respect Diego Simeone, he's one of those managers and one team that you want to avoid in the Champions League because, over two legs, they are very annoying, a good team defensively.
"In my opinion, the good thing is that the first game is in Manchester, that is a small advantage for City. If they can get a good result, it would mean for the second leg Atletico Madrid would need to come out more and they would find more space at the back."
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