Manchester City will look to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for just the second time in their history when they take on the competition’s outsiders Lyon in Lisbon on Saturday night.
The Citizens overcame Real Madrid across two leagues to reach the final eight, while Lyon battled past Juventus to book their place in the quarter-finals.
City Ready to Make a Big Statement
Pep Guardiola’s men have prioritised Europe’s premier club competition this season after several years of disappointment.
City have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the fourth time in five seasons, but they have only progressed from one of those ties.
The Citizens and Guardiola in his post-Barcelona days have earned the ‘nearly men’ tag when it has come to Europe, despite dominating the Premier League in previous seasons.
Guardiola claims he will not have failed if he fails to win the competition with the English club but will be desperate to avoid a repeat of the European heartache they have suffered at the hands of Monaco, Liverpool and Tottenham during his time at the helm.
City have lost just one of their last 17 in the Champions League, but that defeat did come in last season’s quarter-finals against Spurs, who edged out the Etihad Stadium outfit on away goals.
Tottenham were the underdogs against City, as are their opponents this year in Lyon with Guardiola’s troops priced at 1/4 to win the match, while they are 39/20 with a -2 handicap.
Lyon Not Shy in Coming Forward
While City will fancy their chances of winning, Lyon have already proven they can be dangerous opposition.
Knocking out Juventus over two legs in the last-16 is no mean feat and they head into their last-eight match with little expectation.
Lyon have proven resolute under Rudi Garcia, while they also have the firepower to cause City’s shaky defence problems on the counter, with the French outfit scoring six goals in their last four.
Saturday’s game will be the third meeting between the two in the Champions League, and the head-to-head record favours Lyon.
Les Gones are unbeaten from the two previous meetings, which both featured over 2.5 goals.
For there to be three or more goals again on Saturday is priced at 4/7, while over 3.5 goals is 7/5.
Jesus to Lead the Line in Style
City can rack up the goals at the weekend even without talisman Sergio Aguero with the team having come to rely on Brazil international Gabriel Jesus.
While he hasn’t always convinced in the Premier League, the forward has been prolific in Europe this season.
The 23-year-old has been directly involved in nine goals for City in Europe, more than any other player. Jesus has netted six goals and registered three assists, and if he finds the back of the net on Saturday, it would see him become just the third player to score in three separate Champions League knockout matches in a single campaign for the Citizens, after Agüero and Raheem Sterling.
Jesus is 5/4 to score first, while punters can back him to score two or more at 4/1.
