Kompany out of contention to face PSG
Manchester City's hopes of reaching the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in the club's history have been given a significant setback with the recent news breaking, which confirms that captain Vincent Kompany will miss their second-leg home tie against French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
Injury-plagued campaign for talented Belgian
The Belgian centre-back, who celebrated his 30th birthday yesterday, has struggled with injuries on a number of occasions over the past eighteen months and was hoping to recover in time to feature against Laurent Blanc's side, having suffered a reccurence of the calf injury that has seen him miss 30 matches in all competitions this term already. He was able to train with the rest of the first-team squad this morning, but in his pre-match press conference, manager Manuel Pellegrini confirmed that it was "not possible" for them to risk him in a game of such magnitude.
Otámendi-Mangala centre-back pairing set to start
As a result, the centre-back pairing of Nicolas Otámendi and Eliaquim Mangala are expected to start for the Citizens. Martin Demichelis, who has endured some poor form of his own in recent months, could feature but Pellegrini also added the fact that Otámendi, who twisted his ankle in their 2-1 victory over West Brom on Saturday, is available for selection as usual.
Neither side has progressed to the competition's final four in their respective histories, so the Ethiad is set to serve up a cracking battle between two sides desperate to prove themselves firmly as one of Europe's elite footballing sides. The absence of Kompany could be significant for Tuesday's hosts, not only because he boasts big-game experience, but he has justified his quality on a number of occasions when City have needed him dearly in recent years. Mangala is still very much a diamond in the rough whilst Otámendi looks far more convincing alongside Kompany, because the skipper exudes confidence - which spreads across the team.
Judging from their first-legged performance defensively without Vincent, the hosts could very well be in for a nervy ninety minutes at the back.