Manchester City and Bayern Munich both have players who will walk suspension tightropes in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
On Tuesday City will welcome Bayern to the Etihad Stadium for the first instalment of what promises to be a fascinating tie. The return leg will take place at Bayern’s Allianz Arena on Wednesday, 19 April.
City are looking to progress to the semi-final stage for the third successive season, where they would meet either Real Madrid or Chelsea.
Tuesday’s match at the Etihad Stadium represents a reunion for two Bayern stars, Leroy Sane and Joao Cancelo.
Sane left City for Bayern in 2020 after four years at the club, while Cancelo was sent on loan to the Bundesliga champions in January when City staff became concerned that his attitude was negatively affecting the rest of the squad.
The tie will see Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel once again go head-to-head on the sideline, as the latter recently replaced Julian Nagelsmann as Bayern coach.
Tuchel led Chelsea to victory against City in the 2021 Champions League final, although since then Guardiola has twice gotten the better of the German tactician.
City have not faced Bayern in a competitive match since 2014, when a Sergio Aguero hat-trick secured a 3-2 win in a group stage encounter. Guardiola was Bayern manager that day, and this will be his first meeting with his former employer.
With such a lot at stake for both sides, both managers will not want any unforced absences from their squad ahead of the second leg next week.
Manuel Akanji will have to be careful, as he is one booking away from missing the return leg through suspension.
UEFA rules state that, “From the first match in the group stage, players and team officials are suspended for the next competition match after three cautions, which did not result in a red card, as well as following any subsequent odd-numbered caution [e.g. five or seven.]”
Akanji picked up his second booking of the competition in the 7-0 thrashing of RB Leipzig last month. The Swiss defender has started eight of City’s last nine matches, so Guardiola will not want to lose him for the trip to Germany.
Bayern full-back Noussair Mazraoui and midfielder Joshua Kimmich find themselves in a similar predicament, the latter being a particularly key player.
Yellow cards expire upon the completion of the quarter-finals, so a player cautioned in both legs of a semi-final tie cannot be suspended for the final.
