Manchester City welcome Liverpool to the Etihad Stadium for the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night.
The Premier League leaders suffered a 3-0 defeat at Anfield in the first leg last week and now need a standout performance at home to make up the deficit.
What happened to both sides over the weekend?
Pep Guardiola‘s men suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time this season as they lost 3-2 at home to cross-town rivals Manchester United.
The Citizens were 2-0 up and comfortable at half-time, but they appeared to switch off in the second-half, conceding three goals in the space of 16 minutes.
Liverpool, on the other hand, succumbed to a 0-0 draw against Everton in Saturday’s Merseyside derby.
Like Guardiola did against United, Jurgen Klopp made a number of changes to the starting lineup against Everton. Both sides should be at full strength for Tuesday’s meeting, however.
Players to watch
Sergio Aguero – Manchester City
Aguero made his comeback from a knee injury as a 76th-minute substitute in the Manchester derby. The Argentina forward had not witnessed first-team action for more than a month and nearly scored a late goal, but he was denied by David De Gea’s brilliant save.
The 29-year-old is still waiting to reach his 200th goal for City. He could hit the milestone against Liverpool if he starts.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Liverpool
The former Arsenal midfielder didn’t make an impact against Everton, but prior to that Oxlade-Chamberlain produced a brilliant performance against City in the Champions League.
He’s greatly developed since swapping Arsenal for Liverpool last summer and his box-to-box threat is something City need to take care of.
The Ox can test goalkeepers with efforts from long range, having scored a brilliant 25-yard strike in first leg, and has an impressive range of passing too. He could be key.
Prediction
Following Manchester City’s defeat at Anfield, one should expect a big home performance from them on Tuesday.
The Sky Blues should win the game but they may not necessarily eliminate Liverpool in the Champions League, as the Reds are more than capable of finding the back of the net to give City a mountain to climb due to the away goals rule.