Football legend Andrea Pirlo has named checked Manchester City as one of the favourites for Champions League success this season.
City are enjoying a brilliant campaign and are still on course to win an unprecedented quadruple. The Blues have already won the Carabao Cup, are favourites for the Premier League and will face Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final.
They will also come up against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League quarter-finals, which will have the added complication of being the second competitive game to be played at the club's newly built stadium.
It will undoubtedly be a tough tie and it comes within a hectic month of fixtures for City as they'll play nine games in 30 days - which could stretch to 10 in 33 if City advance past Spurs.
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It's going to be a tense month in which City will compete on three different fronts, play Tottenham three times and compete in a Manchester derby.
Despite the strenuous fixture list Pirlo, who won the Champions League twice at AC Milan, still believes City are one of the strongest sides remaining int the competition, alongside his former club Juventus.
"Big clubs must prepare games in every single detail," Pirlo, who made 872 career appearances, told La Gazzetta Dello Sport .
"And they are strong enough to win provided that they won't play like they did in Madrid.
“I think Juventus are stronger than Barcelona while Man City can be more challenging”.
Man City will compete in the Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 9, with the return leg at the Etihad taking place on April 17.
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