Championship strugglers Bolton Wanderers parted company with manager Neil Lennon by mutual consent earlier on Tuesday - and he's at the Etihad this evening.

The 44-year-old former Celtic manager was appointed in October 2014 and leaves with the club 11 points from safety at the foot of the table with nine games left to play.

Lennon's departure comes five days after the Sports Shield consortiumcompleted their takeover of Wanderers.

Academy boss Jimmy Phillips will take over the first team as interim manager.

Image source, Reuters

Andy Townsend
Ex-Republic of Ireland international on BBC 5 live

Should they stay or should they go?

"For Pablo Zabaleta, he is getting to the point where he has run his race and it will be sad to see.

"Samir Nasri, he has been a massive disappointment since he signed and he has strolled about. He has not been fit and not been good enough. I wouldn't even entertain him.

"There are better out there than Bacary Sagna for City to get, but there will be casualties.

"Pep Guardiola will already be looking at this game and making plans for next season."

Pablo Zabaleta has been brilliant for Manchester City for many a year. But he's struggled this season and he is now 31.

Blair Savage: Stay: Aguero, Zabaleta, The Fernandos Leave: Sagna, Demichelis, Nasri, Yaya (still good enough but seems bored at City). Zabaleta has been consistently one of the best RBs in the Prem no idea why he's on so many out lists.

Andy Townsend
Ex-Republic of Ireland international on BBC 5 live

"There is a great challenge here for Pep Guardiola, it won't be plain sailing. He will add a different dimension to what goes on here. His record as a manager is exemplary.

"Very few watch and study the game and immerse themselves in it like he does.

"Failure is just not an option. Like Jose Mourinho, these are special people and they cannot handle second. He will demand exceptional stuff out of the players."

Chelsea

Antonio Conte will step down from his position as manager of Italy following Euro 2016.

Conte has been heavily linked with the managerial vacancy at Chelsea and this move increases the prospect of him taking over at Stamford Bridge.

The 46-year-old was appointed Italy manager in August 2014 shortly afterresigning as coach of Juventus.

"I feel that I must go back to being a coach in a club to have the opportunity of coaching every day," said Conte.

Conte led the Turin club to three successive Serie A titles prior to taking on the national job.

Ally McCoist
Former Scotland striker on BBC Radio 5 live

"City have great strength in depth. Raheem Sterling is left out, is it at a shock? No. He has three goals in six starts but how does Manuel Pellegrini look at this game? It is an extremely strong team and he is taking it very seriously."

Interesting. Does anyone else see Yaya Toure at City next season? Rohit is confident.

Charlie Fairbank: Get rid of Navas. Consistent failure to get quality crosses into the danger zone drives me crazy. I don't even support City!

Rohit Singh: Stay-> Aguero, Hart, Kompany, Silva, Toure, Otamendi, Sterling, Fernando & Kolarov

Go-> Bony, Sagna, Nasri, Clichy, Zabaleta & Mangala

Manchester City have failed to win back-to-back Premier League games since October and slipped nine points behind league leaders Leicester after their 0-0 draw against relegation-threatened Norwich.

But Manuel Pellegrini's men are in pole position in the Champions League against a Kiev side who have never won a game in England.

And City goalkeeper Joe Hart thinks his team are capable of winning the competition.

"It's going to be difficult. It's a really difficult tournament, but we've got to believe we can win it otherwise there's no point in turning up," the England goalkeeper, 28, said.

"You could look at it as pressure, but it's something really exciting.

"I can only speak for myself, but it's really exciting being in this situation, going into the last-16 game with a good option of going through, doing something I haven't done before and creating history for this club."

Andy Townsend
Ex-Republic of Ireland international on BBC 5 live

"When you look at the numbers spent and what they are building here, it would be a disappointment if City only won the League Cup.

"You watch them this season, they have cruised through games. They racked up four or five in some games but look like they are not so fit and pumped up. 

"The Leicester game at the Etihad Stadium was incredible. City were overrun physically. 

"The tempo has gone out of them. Yaya Toure has been such a match-winner and a great player in recent years but this year he has looked like he has struggled to get through the gears."

Agents could be busy this summer...

BBC Radio 5 Live

Build-up of Manchester City's Champions League tie is already under way on BBC Radio 5 live, while they head to the Etihad at 19:30 GMT for the match.

Ian Dennis is the commentator, with former Republic of Ireland international Andy Townsend acting as summariser.

Image source, PA

Away from the Champions League, there are three games in the Championship tonight.

Brighton and Hull have their eyes on the automatic promotion places, wins for both against Reading and managerless Nottingham Forest would lift them above second-placed Middlesbrough.

Play-off hopefuls Ipswich will hope to get their top six push back on track at home to Blackburn in the night's other fixture.

We'll keep you up to date on those games as well as action in League One and League Two.

Manuel Pellegrini has taken Villarreal and Malaga into the quarter-finals in the past and he looks like adding a third club to the list this evening.

But he'll be gone in the summer of course. In comes Pep Guardiola, and is that a warchest under one arm and a hatchet in the other?

Image source, Getty Images

My task for you tonight is to predict the City squad at the start of next season. Who of the current lot will STAY, who will GO?

Image source, Getty Images

Let me know on text (81111) or tweet us at #bbcfootball.

Something like this for example:

STAY: Hart, Kompany, Otamendi, Silva, Aguero, De Bruyne, Sterling

GO: Zabaleta, Clichy, Kolarov, Sagna, Fernando, Navas, Bony, I could go on....

None of Manchester City's 35 Champions League games have ended 0-0. Only Basel have played more games in the competition without registering a goalless draw (46).

Manchester City have kept only one clean sheet in their 17 Champions League home games. It was against Bayern Munich in December 2011 (2-0).

Manchester City have scored more goals than any other team in the final 15 minutes of games in the Champions League this season (6).

Manchester City

Manchester City make two changes from the first leg as Pablo Zabaleta starts at right-back and Jesus Navas replaces Raheem Sterling.

City XI: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany (C), Otamendi, Clichy, Fernando, Toure, Fernandinho, Navas, Silva, Aguero  

From the League One play-off final to the Aguerrroooo moment, and countless other times beforehand, Manchester City have made a habit of making life difficult for themselves. 

City have fallen at the hands of the mighty Barcelona in each of the last two seasons but after finally getting their act together and winning their group this time around they were handed a far more palatable draw.

With all due respect to Dynamo Kiev, none, they were handed a relatively straightforward draw and should secure a seat at the top-eight table tonight.

But then...