Michael Brown
Former Manchester City midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live

Looking at Manchester City it would have been more natural to play John Stones in the centre and play Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back.

It is a big opportunity for Nathan Ake, it is a different level of test with the counter-attacking options that Atletico have. There are lots of different questions.

Simon Gleave
Head of sports analysis, Nielsen Gracenote

Manchester City are currently the best team in Europe according to the Euro Club Index., external Opponents Atlético Madrid are ranked eighth. City are given 75% chance of reaching the last four, making them the third most likely to progress to this year's semi-finals, behind Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Simon Gleave
Head of sports analysis, Nielsen Gracenote

Liverpool play the weakest of the remaining eight teams according to our Euro Club Index, external ranking. Benfica are the 29th best team in Europe in the latest ranking whereas Liverpool are second, behind only Manchester City. Consequently, Liverpool are given 89% chance of successfully negotiating this quarter-final tie. The Reds are the most likely semi-finalist in any of the three European competitions.

Image source, Getty Images

It has been reported that Benfica have had a bit of a helping hand on how to stop Liverpool from somewhere a bit closer to home.

According to Portuguese publication Abola, , externalthe club has been sent all the data on the Reds collated by Wolves, who are managed by former Benfica boss Bruno Lage.

Wolves pushed Liverpool all the way at Molineux in December with only a 90th minute Divock Origi goal giving the visitors victory.

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Liverpool have faced Benfica 10 times before, winning six of those games.

However, the Reds have lost their past three away trips to the Portuguese side in European competition, with the most recent of those coming in the Europa League in 2009-10 under Rafael Benitez.

Dom: As ever with Atletico, much will depend upon whether or not the referee falls for the Madrid side's 'dark arts'. If he does - and so many do - expect City to finish a player or two down.

Simon: Having seen the team sheets for tonight, anyone want to hazard a few guesses for Sunday's line-ups?

Ian Dennis
BBC Radio 5 Live senior football reporter

I can see Liverpool creating a gap against Benfica before the game here at the Etihad on the Sunday but you could see this second leg still being all to play for.

Atletico very rarely suffer a heavy defeat, you have to go back to October 2020 for their last drubbing. When Pep Guardiola says Atletico are more offensive than people believe, I don't think they are and the stats don't show that.

In six of their eight Champions League games they have had considerably less possession than their opponents and they have had a plan and stuck to it.

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The player Liverpool will really have to keep an eye on tonight is Darwin Nunez.

The 22-year-old Uruguayan forward has four goals in the Champions League so far this season and got the winner against Ajax to send Benfica into the last eight.

Nunez is a player in high demand and he was recommended to Barcelona by former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez.

Read more about Nunez here.

Hasan: Keita, Fabinho and Thiago. That should be the Liverpool midfield from now to the end of the season.

Spud: I can’t believe there is a single football fan in the world who would rather watch Pep’s City than Simeone’s Atletico.

Jack: It would seem on the face of it, that Manchester City and Liverpool fans are already contemplating semi-final appearances, before kicking a ball in the quarters. A dangerous mindset against Benfica and Atletico if the players are thinking the same.

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Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak has kept 30 clean sheets in 67 appearances in the Champions League – no goalkeeper has made more since the start of the 2014-15 season.

Manchester City, meanwhile, have only failed to score in one of their 28 home games in the Champions League under Pep Guardiola

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Manchester City have only lost one of their last nine Champions League games beyond the group stage (W7 D1), but what a pricey defeat that was. It came against Chelsea in last season’s final.

Since Pep Guardiola’s first season in 2016-17, City have the highest win percentage of any team in the competition in games after the group stage (64% - 14/22).

Dion Dublin
Former Premier League striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

I think Manchester City will try and stay with a rigid three at the back with Joao Cancelo allowed to go and roam. You could see Bernardo Silva in that number 10 role pulling the strings.

There are another three or four games coming up that City need to win. They just need to make sure this is a professional performance.

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After two and a half years of flattering to deceive, Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix is finally starting to look capable of becoming one of the best players in the world.

It wasn't supposed to take this long.

In the 2018-19 campaign, Felix scored 20 goals and provided eight assists for Benfica to become the most coveted teenager in football, winning the Golden Boy award given to the game's most exciting young player. It tempted Atletico to splash out £113m - the fourth-highest transfer fee in history - on a player who was still only 19.

He was expected to explode into global superstardom, but it didn't happen. After scoring just four goals in his first 22 starts, the Portugal international lost his place in the team and has struggled to get it back.

A trip to Osasuna on 19 February, however, proved to be an unexpected turning point both for Felix and the team.

Read the full piece

Ian Dennis
BBC Radio 5 Live senior football reporter

It is a season-defining 12-day period because Manchester City and Liverpool are both playing tonight in the Champions League and then they meet here in a potential title decider before playing in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

This adds to the intrigue as Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp navigate such a crucial period.

Despite never having lifted the trophy, Manchester City remain favourites to win this season's Champions League. Football reporter John Bennett and Harry Winters from City Xtra chat to The Football News Show about the improvements City have made since their defeat in last season's final by Chelsea and how Ilkay Gundogan could be the key man in a crucial run of fixtures, starting with their quarter-final against Atletico Madrid.

Mike Minay
BBC Radio Manchester

In the space of 12 days, Manchester City could go from treble talk to looking at a single trophy. They could silence their great rivals Liverpool's talk of a quadruple. They could also cause them to shout louder.

There is no doubt that this next fortnight is season defining. It starts tonight at home to Atletico Madrid. The manager and the players will all say 'it's one game at a time' or 'the most important game is the next one'. I agree. But it's so hard not to look ahead.

In my head I think it's unlikely City will win all four. So where do you take the hit? I posted this on social media. I went with defeat tonight, a draw in the Premier League against Liverpool on Sunday, win next Wednesday in the reverse leg (on aggregate of course), and beat Liverpool at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final. But then, it was logically pointed out to me that could defeat tonight disrupt momentum and put City on the back foot?

See, this is why you shouldn't plan. Focus instead on beating Atletico Madrid tonight. A team that will sit deep, a low block and counter - and we've seen teams beat City in this manner before.

Here we go then. The next 12 days will make or break Manchester City's season - and they face a run of fixtures that I am excited about, but dreading at the same time.

Pep Guardiola's side have done brilliantly to get to April and still be in the hunt for the Treble, but all three trophies are on the line in the next four games, against two extremely difficult opponents - Liverpool and Atletico Madrid.

Starting on Tuesday, City have a horrible sequence of matches in which they play Atletico, Liverpool, Atletico, Liverpool in the Champions League, Premier League and finally the FA Cup.

I don't think City will win all four games - they don't have to - but for different reasons they have to go hard in the first two, which are absolutely crucial for what happens next.

Read the full piece

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola joked he will field 12 players against Atletico Madrid in response to claims he overthinks Champions League games.

Guardiola has been criticised for his selections in past big games that have seen City knocked out.

"In the Champions League I always overthink," he said in a response that appeared both part serious and part light-hearted.

In last season's final against Chelsea, Guardiola notably decided to start without a holding midfielder and his side were well below par in a 1-0 defeat.

But he said: "I always create new tactics and ideas - and tomorrow you will see a new one.

"I overthink a lot, that's why I have very good results in the Champions League. I love it. It would be boring if I always played the same way.

"If people think I will play the same against Atletico and Liverpool, I don't think like that because the movements from Liverpool are completely different than Atletico - especially because the players are all different.

"That's why I love to overthink and create stupid tactics, and when we don't win I am punished. I will take inspiration and I'm going to do incredible tactics [on Tuesday]. We play with 12!"

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer at Etihad Stadium

Manchester City attempt to succeed where Manchester United failed and overcome one of the most durable and stubborn opponents the Champions League can throw up in Atletico Madrid.

Liverpool fell victim to Atletico in the last 16 when they were the holders and Diego Simeone's side will provide a sharp contrast in style to Pepo Guardiola's purists.

City are favourites over the two legs of this quarter-final - but dismiss Simeone and Atletico at your peril.

Image source, BBC Sport

Manchester City make three changes to the side that won 2-0 at Burnley in the Premier League at the weekend.

Kyle Walker is suspended, while Jack Grealish and Phil Foden drop to the bench as Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and John Stones all start.

Man City XI: Ederson, Stones, Ake, Laporte, Cancelo, De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan, Mahrez, Bernardo Silva, Sterling.

Subs: Jesus, Grealish, Zinchenko, Steffen, Fernandinho, Carson, Foden, Egan-Riley, Mbete-Tabu.

Image source, BBC Sport

Atletico Madrid make two changes to the side that began the 4-1 win over Alaves in La Liga on Saturday.

Their captain Koke returns while Felipe also starts as Thomas Lemar drops to the bench and Jose Gimenez misses out.

Atletico Madrid XI: Oblak, Vrsaljko, Savic, Felipe, Mandava, Lodi, Llorente, Kondogbia, Koke, Griezmann, Felix.

Subs: Lecomte, De Paul, Suarez, Correa, Lemar, Wass, Matheus Cunha, Hermoso, Serrano, Gomez, Camara.