They were the first two names out of the hat in this round of 16 draw! Man City were drawn from the second-placed sides, and AS Monaco from the group winners’ pot.
Monaco Vice-President Vadim Vasilyev believes Manchester City will start as favourites when the two teams meet in the Champions League round of 16.
“It’s tough. Manchester City is the favourite for this tie,” said the Russian, whose club knocked out Arsenal as they reached the quarterfinals in 2014-15. “We’re not under pressure, we’re going to play our best football. Against Arsenal, we weren’t favourites, and we caused an upset. It’s up to us to see if we can do it again.
“It’s a great game, so why not? We’re the best attack in Europe, we’re scoring goals, we have to go there without fear and play our game. What will be will be.”
Leonardo Jardim’s men have been in prolific form in front of goal this season with Saturday’s 4-0 defeat of Bordeaux taking their tally to 53 goals in 17 Ligue 1 games — 21 more than City have scored.
City technical director Txiki Begiristain is aware of the form that they are in and so is expecting a tough tie.
“It’s difficult for Monaco but also for Manchester,” he told. “Monaco are one of the teams playing the best football. They finished top of a very difficult group with Tottenham in it. It’s not by chance they finished top.
“They’re playing the best football in France. They’re a very attacking team, we have to be so too. We also need to be solid. They have a lot of very good players. It’ll be a great game.”
Falcao tweeted: “Finally, our rival in the Champions League will be Manchester City.”
MANCHESTER CITY
- Champions League record: 0 wins
- Stadium: Etihad Stadium (55,097 seater)
- Current position in Premier League: 4th (W9, D3, L3). After a scintillating start to the season, the Citizens have lost some of their early momentum. They have lost their last two games and are seven points behind leaders Chelsea.
- Top scorer: Sergio Agüero (10 goals in the Premier League, 6 goals in the UCL)
- Manager: Pep Guardiola
- Head to head record vs AS Monaco: no previous meetings
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND OF 16
Manchester City – AS Monaco
Napoli – Real Madrid
Dortmund – Benfica
Bayern Munich – Arsenal
FC Porto – Juventus
Atlético Madrid – Leverkusen
PSG – FC Barcelona
Leicester City – FC Sevilla
