Pep Guardiola’s side are expected to complete the job they started in Germany three weeks ago and continue their Champions League progress
Manchester City start the Champions League last-16 second leg match against Schalke at the Etihad Stadium as hot favourites to progress after a 3-2 success in Germany three weeks ago.
Pep Guardiola’s men had been expected to cruise through but a couple of penalties from Nabil Bentaleb gave the Germans an unexpected 2-1 advantage at the break in the first leg.
Only late goals from Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling turned the tie, despite City having been reduced to 10 men midway through the second half when Nicolas Otamendi was dismissed.
City have not been in their most spectacular form since then , but they have continued to win games and will expect to be too powerful for a Schalke side whose place in the Bundesliga next season is still not secure.
| Game | Manchester City vs Schalke |
| Date | Tuesday, March 12 |
| Time | 8:00pm GMT / 4:00pm ET |
| Stream (US only) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Galavision / Univision NOW | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be shown on BT Sport 2 and streamed on the BT Sport Live app.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BT Sport 2 | BT Sport Live |
| Position | Manchester City players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Ederson, Grimshaw, Muric |
| Defenders | Walker, Danilo, Laporte, Sandler, Zinchenko, Garcia, Stones, Delph |
| Midfielders | Sterling, Gundogan, Sane, B. Silva, D. Silva, Mahrez, Foden |
| Forwards | Aguero, Jesus |
City approach this match without suspended centre-back Nicolas Otamendi or influential midfielder Fernandinho.
Meanwhile, Claudio Bravo, Benjamin Mendy, Vincent Kompany and Kevin De Bruyne are all laid up with injury problems.
John Stones returns to the bench alongside the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden.
Manchester City starting XI: Ederson, Walker, Danilo, Laporte, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Silva, Sterling, Sane, Bernardo, Aguero.
Subs: Muric, Stones, Delph, Mahrez, Jesus, Foden, Humphreys.
| Position | Schalke players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Fahrmann, Nubel |
| Defenders | Mendyl, Nastasic, Rudy, Oczipka, Sane, Bruma |
| Midfielders | McKennie, Serdar, Bentaleb, Konoplyanka, Stambouli, Caligiuri, Harit |
| Forwards | Uth, Matondo, Burgstaller, Skrzybski, Teuchert, Kutucu |
Schalke have no suspension headaches but they do have a handful of injury concerns, with Daniel Caligiuri, Alessandro Schopf and Omar Mascarell all ruled out.
Breel Embolo is back after missing the first leg, and with the Switzerland international having grabbed a double against Werder Bremen at the weekend and he is asked to lead the line at the Etihad.
Schalke starting XI: Fahrmann, Bruma, Stambouli, Sane, Oczipka, McKennie, Serdar, Konoplyanka, Bentaleb, Burgstaller; Embolo.
Subs: Nubel, Mendy, Rudy, Matondo, Kutucu, Skrzybski, Teuchert.
Man City are red-hot favourites, with bet365 offering a price of 1/7 for them to win this leg. Schalke are 22/1 to cause an upset while the draw is priced at 8/1.
Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
City are currently performing a delicate balancing act as they strive for success on four fronts.
The Carabao Cup is already in the bag, the FA Cup can wait, but juggling Premier League and Champions League commitments is the truly tricky part of their challenge.
It is a test that they are so far passing. Under relentless pressure from Liverpool, City have regained first spot in the domestic standings and are winning games on a consistent basis.
Pep Guardiola, though, is aware just how much experience is required to be able to handle the challenges of such rigours in an effective manner.
“We are teenagers in this competition,” he told the media on the eve of Tuesday’s clash with Schalke, arguing that generations of success are required to instil such a mindset into the fabric of a club.
“It’s not an excuse – we want to win it, we push ourselves and it will be not good if we don’t go through. You have to dream, you have to point as high as possible but there are a lot of teams thinking the same.”
City have also had plenty of warnings against complacency ahead of this tie.
“One week ago, we didn’t expect the results at Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid would happen,” the Spaniard pointed out. “Many things can happen in 90 minutes in this kind of competition.
“I’m sitting here thinking we still have work to do. That is my feeling.”
It would take a monumental turnaround for Schalke to progress, not least because their form is currently miserable.
Their only win in their last nine games came in the DFB Pokal against Fortuna Dusseldorf, while Friday’s 4-2 loss against Werder Bremen leaves Domenico Tedesco’s side in serious relegation danger .
With Red Bull Salzburg boss Marco Rose being lined up as his replacement, Tedesco, who has been told he has two games to prove himself, needs a miracle in line with those last week at the Bernabeu and Parc des Princes if his side are to win through.
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