Manchester City v Basel
UEFA Champions League Last 16, Second Leg
With their domestic dominance now beyond all doubt, Manchester City can focus their attention on their European commitments, needing to simply take care of business at home against FC Basel to ensure progression to the quarter-final stage. Already comfortable atop the Premier League table, Pep Guardiola’s men swept the Swiss Super League champions aside in last month’s meeting, running out 4-0 winners in the first leg at St. Jakob-Park.
It was a match that showed their continental rivals that the superiority they have displayed on a weekly basis all season is no mirage, serving notice that they must be taken seriously in UEFA’s elite competition as well. The Spanish boss’ approach has clearly now been fully assimilated by his squad, who execute his instructions perfectly no matter how much he opts to rest and rotate his side for a given encounter.
Only Barcelona (63.6%) have enjoyed more possession in the Champions League than City (61.3%) this term, while Real Madrid have tied their competition best pass completion rate of 89.6%. Guardiola’s men also rank fourth in terms of goals scored with 18, his 4-3-3 formation allowing them to retain the ball or use their speed to attack at pace on the counter when the opportunity presents itself.
For Basel, it seems as if the result is a foregone conclusion, despite the fact they registered a group stage victory over Manchester United back in November. “They basically have no weaknesses, they're flexible and can react to what their opponents do,” boss Raphaël Wicky said earlier this week. “They're an unbelievably strong team. When we have the ball, we have to have the courage to use it. Everything has to go perfectly for us in every single respect if we are to create a big surprise.”
Their own form has arguably taken a nosedive at precisely the wrong moment to make that a possibility however, following up their defeat in the first leg with uncharacteristically sloppy losses to St. Gallen and Young Boys, while seeing their two fixtures postponed due to adverse weather conditions.
Wicky is expected to opt for the same 3-4-3 formation he deployed last time, seeking to flood the midfield area and deny City space in wide areas at the same time, something they must try much harder at than they managed last time. They will go into this clash without key defender Éder Balanta, while an on-going shoulder issue looks set to keep veteran goalkeeper Germano Vailati sidelined once again. There are doubts over Luca Zuffi’s fitness, but he – as well as Raoul Petretta and Renato Steffen may all come into the starting XI if the Coach looks to make changes to his side in hope of pulling off an upset.
City continue to be without full-back Benjamin Mendy and he is joined by midfielder Fernandinho in missing this encounter. Raheem Sterling has been listed as doubtful, but given their commanding lead Guardiola could ring the chances with Claudio Bravo, Fabian Delph, Yaya Toure and Gabriel Jesus among those in line to start.
Manchester City (4-3-3): Bravo; Danilo, Stones, Kompany, Delph; De Bruyne, Toure, Foden; Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus, Sane
FC Basel (3-4-3): Vaclík; Lacroix, Suchý, Balanta; Lang, Frei, Xhaka, Petretta; Elyounoussi, Van Wolfswinkel, Oberlin
