It feels as if the Manchester City project has been gearing up to this final frontier for a long time.
A European trophy is the one measure by which the English champions have fallen short over the past decade and indeed, it is now 10 years since even Pep Guardiola himself won the Champions League.
For all these aligning stars, there is an unfortunate recent record against Chelsea which looms large. Since Thomas Tuchel’s arrival, he has twice masterminded City’s undoing.
The Blues boss has the greater injury concerns, though, with doubts over N’Golo Kante and Edouard Mendy having dominated the build-up.
Guardiola, on the other hand, has only a few minor conundrums to settle. Will Joao Cancelo return having served a domestic ban, or will he reward surprise package Oleksandr Zinchenko for an impressive campaign?
There is also the question of the front three to be settled, though it seems inevitable City will persist without a striker. That could see Kevin De Bruyne deployed as a false nine, with Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez behind him.
The only real concern lies in Ilkay Gundogan, who pulled up in training with a thigh problem on Friday, although he was not guaranteed to start anyway, having suffered a knock against Brighton in the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season and having subsequently missed the 5-0 win over Etihad.
If the German is not fit to start, Rodri and Fernandinho should occupy the two berths in central midfield.
There is, of course, one final matter to be settled on the night, and that is whether Guardiola can afford another emotional farewell to Sergio Aguero. The Argentine said his goodbyes properly at the Etihad last Sunday, signing off in style with two goals in five second-half minutes.
Aguero is set to start on the bench in Porto and only the ebb and flow of the game itself will dictate if he gets a last outing in a City shirt.
Manchester City’s squad in full and predicted XI
City’s predicted XI to face Chelsea: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; Fernandinho, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Foden
Manchester City’s travelling squad
Goalkeepers: Ederson, Scott Carson, Zack Steffen, James Trafford
Defenders: Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Joao Cancelo, Eric Garcia
Midfielders: Ilkay Gundogan, Rodrigo, Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ferran Torres
Forwards: Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Sergio Aguero, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2R4NJz0
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