Sergio Aguero vs Andrea Raggi
The safest way that Manchester City could progress to the next round would be to score at Stade Louis-II where they face Monaco this Wednesday in the round of 16. And given the result in the first leg of the fixture, scoring seems quite easy for Guardiola’s men.
City had only one upper hand over Monaco in the last fixture and that was Aguero. Although his Premier league campaign has taken a bit of a slow start this season, where he has managed to bag just 12 goals in 21 appearances so far, he has been scintillating on the European stage. He has netted five and assisted twice in the Champions League and there is an extremely high chance he will get his name on the scoresheet this time too.
Leonardo Jardim will have the experienced Andrea Raggi to take care of him once again. And his work doubles this time as he will be without his partner Kamil Gilk for the crucial fixture, who is suspended following a booking in the previous fixture. The Italian has been quite impactful for the French side this season and with Monaco’s prime objective being not letting in any goals, he will be vital.
Kylian Mbappe vs John Stones
Three away goals could be a massive advantage if Monaco know how to take it. Mbappe has been in hot form this season scoring 10 and assisting seven in 21 domestic appearances so far and he will be looking to start off proceedings as early as possible. He failed to score a single goal in the Champions League group stages before he faced City in the round of 16. Scoring against Guardiola’s men seems easy for the 18-year-old and City will be wary of it.
John Stones is expected to cover the French sensation at his backyard on Wednesday, which looks like a mammoth task. City’s free-flowing style doesn’t involve much defending and they believe in getting their positioning just perfect, something Stones has found difficult to adapt so far.
Ramadel Falcao vs Nicolas Otamendi
The Colombian international was back to his best as soon as he set his foot back in France. He has netted 16 times in 22 appearances in the domestic league so far contributing majorly to their league summit position. Monaco will have to keep a difference of at least 2 goals for qualifying and Falcao will be their main man in executing it. He proved unstoppable the last time they met and although he was down with a hip injury last week, he is back now.
Otamendi will undoubtedly have a torrid time keeping Monaco quiet at their home ground and marking Falcao makes his job all the more difficult.
