Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne has hailed Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen as an example of a perfect player ahead of a run of three matches between the two clubs.
Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino's sides will take each other on in the quarter-finals of the Champions League before a Premier League showdown and the battle between the creators could be key to deciding who takes the glory.
Ahead of the games, Belgium international De Bruyne was given the task of selecting a range of footballers he would combine into his perfect player, with Eriksen getting the nod for his vision on the ball.
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The Dane has been linked with interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid in recent transfer windows and is widely-regarded as one of the most intelligent midfielders in Europe.
Under Pochettino, he has become a skilful yet hard-working playmaker, knitting Tottenham's play together and laying on chances for the likes of Dele Alli and Harry Kane, especially in big games. His crosses into the box can be particularly dangerous.
City will need to be wary of the midfielder's qualities and according to De Bruyne, Eriksen remains a footballer who does not get the credit he deserves.
"I like a player like Eriksen," he told BT Sport. "Very underrated in peoples' minds. He creates a lot of chances for his teammates. I know him already from his time at Ajax."
Spurs play the first leg of their quarter-final at home before two trips to the Etihad Stadium, in the Champions League and then the Premier League.
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De Bruyne has dismissed the advantage that Tottenham could hold in playing the reigning English champions at their new home, built on the site of White Hart Lane.
“I don’t care about the stadium,” he said, as reported by the Guardian. “I care about the team we play. Everybody talks about the stadium like it’s something special.
"Everybody has a stadium. Everybody has supporters. They’ll be up for it. They’ll probably be a little bit more excited but in the end it’s a stadium with supporters.
"If they go to Wembley with 80,000 or there with 62,000, it’s going to be the same. It’ll be a tough game but I think we’ll be all right.”
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