Schalke vs Manchester City
Uefa Champions League 2018-19 | Round of 16, first leg
Venue: Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen
Date: Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Kick-off: 8pm GMT
Back on top of the Premier League and with their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup secure, Manchester City continue to fight on four fronts this week as they return to Champions League knockout action for the sixth successive season.
The western German city of Gelsenkirchen is the destination for Pep Guardiola's side, who were given a surprisingly stern test of their credentials by League Two Newport at the weekend before eventually winning 4-1 courtesy of a late goal flurry that included a brace from young Phil Foden.
City's trip to Veltins-Arena, which comes after they topped a group containing Lyon, Shakhtar Donetsk and Hoffenheim, also takes place just four days before the small matter of a Carabao Cup final date against Chelsea at Wembley.
Their opponents, Schalke, finished ahead of Galatasaray and Lokomotiv Moscow as the comfortable runners-up to FC Porto in a somewhat weak Group D, though are in the midst of a hugely disappointing domestic campaign.
Die Konigsblauen, managed by 33-year-old Domenico Tedesco, currently sit 14th in the Bundesliga after claiming a goalless draw at home to Freiburg on Saturday despite playing for 48 minutes with 10 men following Suat Serdar's dismissal.
Schalke vs Manchester City team news
Fresh off making his first Bundesliga start, Welsh winger Rabbi Matondo could face the club he left in an £11.29million deal in January.
Breel Embolo (foot) is a long-term absentee, while Benjamin Stambouli (cheekbone), Alessandro Schopf (knee) and Steven Skrzybski (hamstring) have not featured since the 2-2 draw at Hertha Berlin last month.
However, Guido Burgstaller made his first appearance in more than two months from the bench on Saturday following achilles and groin issues.
City, meanwhile, remain without Claudio Bravo (achilles) and Vincent Kompany (muscle). Benjamin Mendy is still yet to play after making a brief return from his lingering knee injury against Burton.
Score prediction: Schalke 1-3 Manchester City
City are back on a roll after their rare blip at Newcastle and continue to hunt an unprecedented quadruple despite a brief scare at Rodney Parade.
Schalke have performed well below expectations this season and can only hope to keep this tie close and head to Etihad Stadium in three weeks' time with a shot at progressing.
They will surely have trouble stemming City's seemingly endless stream of goals.
Schalke vs Manchester City tickets
To check ticket availability, click here to head to Schalke's website.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Schalke to win: 10/1
- Manchester City to win: 1/4
- Draw: 5/1
First goal scorer
- Gabriel Jesus: 11/4
- Sergio Aguero: 11/4
- Leroy Sane: 5/1
- Raheem Sterling: 5/1
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
TV channel and live stream, and online coverage
The match will be televised live on BT Sport 2.
BT Sport subscribers will be able to stream the match online via the video player and the BT Sport app.
You can also follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog.
Head to Head history and results (h2h)
This will be the fourth time that these two teams have squared off throughout their respective histories.
They last met in the group stages of the Uefa Cup back in November 2008, when goals from Stephen Ireland and Benjani sealed a 2-0 victory for City in Gelsenkirchen and a place in the last 32.
Schalke and City also crossed paths in the Uefa Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals in 1970. On that occasion, the German outfit won the first leg 1-0 before being thrashed 5-1 by eventual competition winners City at Maine Road.
