New stadium can lift us for City clash says Poch
MAURICIO Pochettino does not think City will have wanted to draw Tottenham in the Champions League.
The two Premier League teams have been put together in the quarter-final while fellow English teams Liverpool and United have drawn Porto and Barcelona respectively.
City fans seemed relatively happy with the draw having avoided Barcelona and Juventus, and Spurs supporters did not react particularly well to the news.
Pochettino would also have preferred a team from another country – his side have beaten Inter, Barcelona, and Dortmund in this year’s competition – but believes that Pep Guardiola is in the same boat as he is.
“Any of the four English teams would have preferred not to face another Premier League side, but the draw is what it is,” he told Mundo Deportivo .
“City is a team that has the obligation to win, but not only since the arrival of Pep with [Roberto] Mancini and with [Manuel] Pellegrini also.
“And we are going to compete with the incentive of launching our new stadium against them and playing against 62,000 people who are going to transmit a special energy.”
Guardiola has come out on top in his last three games against Pochettino, with City winning 4-1 at home and 3-1 away last season before a narrow 1-0 win in October on an awful Wembley pitch. The Blues boss is looking forward to another test against a team he knows well.
“We travel to London. London is closer than going to Spain or Catalonia,” he said.
“When you have four teams in the Premier League in the same draw you have a chance to get one of them. I know quite well the quality of this team.” CITY will spend the next two weeks recovering and preparing for the final assault on the Premier League title.
Also at stake is the FA Cup and Champions League with crucial matches facing Pep Guardiola’s side, but the manager is not one to get ahead of himself, and will insist that City’s focus is only on the trip to Fulham in 12 days time.
But in reality, how City prepare during this international break will not only determine the condition they are in for the final games of the season, but also for the summer transfer market.
City are notorious for their forward-planning when it comes to transfers – as shown by the host of new contracts awarded to key players in recent months - and they will no doubt know exactly who they will target in the summer.
A defensive midfielder to replace Fernandinho is a crucial addition, while a left-back has become a pressing concern this season and there may also be room for some attacking reinforcements with Sergio Aguero and David Silva not getting any younger.
So the international break provides an opportunity to see how their transfer targets perform on the big stage, and we’ve looked at the players Guardiola may be tempted to scout personally if he was interested in them. MATTHIJS DE LIGT - HOLLAND The Ajax defender is sure to move on this summer, and City may be set for another battle with Barcelona.
The Blues missed out on Frenkie de Jong in January, but his teammate at the Johan Cruyff Arena is not a bad second-choice.
De Ligt, 19, is one of Europe’s most promising defenders, and would be a long-term successor to Vincent Kompany at the Etihad. The Netherlands face Belarus and Germany over the coming break. RUBEN NEVES - PORTUGAL Guardiola has been able to see Neves’ quality every week in the Premier League this season, but he has a unique opportunity to see how a future midfield partnership at City could look. Neves and Bernardo Silva are both in the Portugal squad to face Ukraine and Serbia, and if picked together might show the beginnings of a fruitful partnership in Sky Blue back in Manchester. 21-year-old Neves is sure to be in demand this summer, and Guardiola may hope for Bernardo to do some important scouting work for the club while he is away with Neves. TANGUY NDOMBELE - FRANCE City have been linked with Ndombele ever since his commanding performance at the Etihad earlier this season as Lyon inflicted their first defeat of the campaign. The defensive midfielder will be looking to add to his four France