It’s got to be

football, like all sports, everything can happen. What we are going to do is try.

“We have to score the first one, make the second one and then we’ll see the momentum. That can happen in the Champions League.”

Guardiola’s hope that City can pull off one of the great comebacks is fuelled by his confidence that his attackminded team can create numerous chances and score plenty of goals. They have netted 126 in 50 games in all competitions, an average of 2.52. In the Premier League, where they have scored 90 goals in 32 matches, the average goes up to 2.81.

The pertinent question is: can they keep out a Liverpool team who have not been short of goals themselves this season, including hitting seven past City?

The good news for City is that Sergio Aguero – still needing one goal to bring up his double century for the club – will be back in their line-up, along with playmaker Kevin De Bruyne and right-back Kyle Walker, both rested on Saturday.

The bad news is that Liverpool’s top scorer Mohamed Salah is likely to have recovered from the groin strain that forced him off in the first game. Guardiola’s big concern is City’s worrying habit of pressing the panic button on the big occasions.

They conceded three in nine minutes in the league game at Anfield in January, three in 19 minutes in last week’s first leg, and three in 17 minutes in the derby.

Guardiola says they must hold their nerve against a team he acknowledges cause his players problems with the lightning speed of their counter-attacks.

“It’s how you handle the emotions. Even the best teams in the world sometimes concede one and then three or four. It can