Pep Guardiola's side hold a narrow advantage heading into their trip to Ashton Gate, having ran out 2-1 winners in the first game at the Etihad Stadium two weeks ago. A last-gasp goal from Sergio Aguero brought City the win and puts them in pole position to advance to the final, but it is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility that their single-goal lead could be overturned by their Championship opponents.
Having said that, there is no doubt that the Citizens are overwhelming favourites to advance, and their recent 4-3 defeat by Liverpool - the club's first in domestic action this season - did not seem to affect them in Saturday's 3-1 triumph over Newcastle United. The Magpies have played City home and away in recent weeks and, on both occasions, sat extremely deep and were not interested in having possession. Bristol City had a different game plan earlier this month and are likely to take a more proactive approach once more.
Lee Johnson's charges have done brilliantly in this competition in 2017/18, beating Plymouth Argyle, Watford, Stoke City and Crystal Palace to set up a last-eight tie against Manchester United. A dramatic goal in second-half stoppage time brought them a famous win against the Red Devils, before Bristol City went on to give a fine account of themselves in the first leg against Manchester City. The Robins are also pushing for promotion to the Premier League this campaign; although they have slipped to fifth place in the second-tier standings after losing three and drawing one of their last four games, Johnson’s men are still in with a chance of securing top-flight football next term.
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Manchester City will have to make do without Fabian Delph (knee), Gabriel Jesus (knee), Vincent Kompany (calf), Phil Foden (knee) and Benjamin Mendy (knee). Although Guardiola will not want to make wholesale changes to his starting XI, he could give some fringe players – including Bernardo Silva, Eliaquim Mangala and Yaya Toure – some game time.
Bristol City, meanwhile, will be unable to call upon the services of Jens Hegeler (knee), Famara Diedhiou (knee) and Eros Pisano (hamstring). Johnson tends to favour a 4-4-1-1 formation with Jamie Paterson deployed behind lone centre-forward Bobby Reid; at the other end of the field, centre-back duo Aden Flint and Nathan Baker will have their hands full in dealing with City’s fearsome forward line.
This second leg should be as entertaining as the first - and it could have the same outcome, with Manchester City emerging victorious from a match in which both teams find the back of the net. As far as an anytime goalscorer is concerned, Sane – who is not guaranteed to start but is likely to appear at some stage – looks to be a good value option.
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