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England Premier League (EPL) giants, Manchester City will face their first toughest test in 2023, when they play Bayern Munich in a dog eat dog affair tonight at Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City has reached the last eight for the sixth successive season, but they are yet to lift the trophy..
The closest City came was under Guardiola two years ago, when they made their only appearance, to date, in the final but lost 1-0 to Chelsea in Porto.
Guardiola won the Champions League twice during his time in charge of Barcelona and he accepts the expectation since he arrived in England has been that he will guide City to European glory.
He said, “”It’s an honour to be here, against an elite club like Bayern Munich. We are happy to be here.
“You have to deserve it. Six, seven years ago when I arrived here – ‘you are here to win the Champions League’. It comes every season.
“We tried every season but there are teams you face who are good too, and they want to win it too.
“We want to try but that doesn’t mean we’re going to win. Jack Nicklaus, how many majors did he play in his career? 120? How many did he win? Eighteen – wow. He lost more than he won.
“Michael Jordan, the best athlete, won six NBA titles. How many years did he play? Sixteen? He lost more than he won.
“These games are so difficult. The important thing is to be here, compete well and do our best.
“If I lose, I lose. I’m not perfect.”
Bayern were coached by Julian Nagelsmann when the quarter-final draw was made, but last month replaced their manager with Thomas Tuchel – who was in charge of Chelsea when they beat City in the final in 2021.
Tuchel has won two and lost one of his three games in charge of Bayern so far, but Guardiola insists he is more focused on his own side than anything his opponent may or may not have up his sleeve.
Tuchel admitted he has had trouble sleeping in the build-up to Bayern’s Champions League tie against City.
The former Chelsea manager revealed he was hoping for an early night following his team’s arrival in Manchester but conceded that might not be possible as he mulls over his tactical plans.
He said: “I will try to go to bed early. I just hope I will be able to sleep.
“The best preparation is sleep but sometimes it is hard to get that sleep when you’re thinking about things.
“This morning I woke up really early and I just decided to go to the training ground because I couldn’t get back to sleep. I just kept thinking about the match.”
Tuchel will be coming up against City boss Pep Guardiola for the 11th time in his managerial career.
The German has won just three of their previous encounters but one of them was the 2021 final, when he guided Chelsea to an unexpected victory over City.
Skysports
