You’re not allowed to mention the Q word within earshot of the Etihad Stadium.
Yet The Quadruple remains a possibility for Manchester City and the Carabao Cup is already in the bag. Pep Guardiola’s men are top of the Premier League and continue their FA Cup campaign this weekend at Championship side Swansea.
Today, City discovered they will face Tottenham Hotspur in the quarterfinals of the Champions League in an all-Premier League clash. While City continue to dominate on the domestic front, it’s worth noting that they’ve never beaten English opposition in European competition in four attempts.
Most recently, Liverpool got the better of City in the Champions League after two epic tussles in the quarter-finals last season. Goals from Mo Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane helped the Reds to a 3-0 first leg win at Anfield. In the return leg in Manchester, Gabriel Jesus gave City the chance of an unlikely comeback with a second-minute goal but Liverpool killed the tie with goals from Salah and Roberto Firmino.
In 1971, Manchester City lost both legs of a UEFA European Cup Winners Cup semi-final against Chelsea. At Stamford Bridge, a Derek Smethurst goal helped Chelsea to a 1-0 win. In the corresponding leg, an own goal from Ron Healey saw the London club win 1-0 again to earn their place in the final. Chelsea went onto win the trophy but they needed a replay to get past Real Madrid.
When City met Spurs in the Premier League this season at Wembley Stadium, a sixth-minute Riyad Mahrez goal was enough to give the Sky Blues all three points at Wembley Stadium. The return fixture at the Etihad Stadium will take place on Saturday, April 20 meaning the teams will play three times in 11 days.
You have to go back to 2016 for Spurs’ most recent win against Manchester City. An Aleksandar Kolorov own goal after nine minutes gave Spurs the lead before Dele Alli added a second shortly before half-time.
The winners here will go on to face Ajax or Juventus in the semi-final so City won’t have to worry about any more English opposition as they look to win the Champions League for the first time in their history. This year’s Champions League final will take place on June 1 in Madrid and Guardiola would love nothing more than picking up another trophy in the city which is home to Real and Atleti.