Manchester City are prepared for an all-out Tottenham assault when the first whistle blows in the Champions League quarter-final.
And having been blitzed by Liverpool in the opening half-hour at Anfield last season, manager Pep Guardiola will stress to his players how important the opening phase of tomorrow night’s first leg will be.
Spurs are hoping that the first European night at their spanking new stadium will create the kind of atmosphere that helped to unhinge the Blues at the same stage last season, against Liverpool.
Mauricio Pochettino has already said that he wants an aggressive start from his team – and Guardiola will send his players out ready to combat that.
“I will give my message to the players,” said the City boss. “Always playing against Spurs away they will play in that way - I can’t expect differently.
“How do we handle that if they do it? We must try to do it more. Maybe they will play high press and aggressive. We will prepare for that.”
City have been starting fast in recent games, scoring significant early goals in the last three games, including Gabriel Jesus ’ fourth minute winner in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Brighton.
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That has led to speculation that City are feeling the pace of their Quadruple hunt, and are banking on getting in front and then coasting to victory without having to exert themelvs too much.
“I don’t know how fresh we are, I never know before, our minds control our legs,” said Guardiola.
“I don’t agree our performances aren’t acceptable. In the FA Cup we could have been better, we know how tough it is.
“All eight teams (left in Champions League) are contenders to win the prize. This is the first leg against a tough opponent and we will give it a good go.”
Kevin De Bruyne dismissed the idea that the new stadium could be a factor, with Spurs fans keen to turn it into a hostile environment.
Guardiola echoed that, claiming that it can only make any kind of difference if his players allow it to do so.
“It affects if we think about the fans - if we think about what we do on the pitch it doesn’t affect,” he said.
“You are thinking outside the pitch, the stadium is what it is, the supporters support the team more than ever in the Champions League.
“We know what we are going to face, it’s up to us how we handle it. We have to know to handle the situations - if we don’t that’s because we are not prepared to go through.”
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