How Man City vs Liverpool in FA Cup could impact Champions League final

"We have a lot of games on our shoulders and obviously that takes its toll," said Rodri after Manchester City edged a bruising Champions League quarter-final with Atletico Madrid.

If you were to offer City an aggregate win over Atletico, as well as a Premier League draw with title rivals Liverpool in between, they'd have probably taken it 10 days ago. Add an FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool on Saturday, and City will be delighted with how their most intense week of the season has progressed.

Even if they fall short in the cup, it's the result they'd have been most willing to sacrifice — not that it was ever a realistic option for Pep Guardiola. This week's Champions League quarter-finals have thrown a new dynamic into the Wembley narrative, however. There's a potential Champions League final showdown between City and Liverpool to consider.

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Both sides were probably relieved to have been kept apart in the quarter-finals and semi-finals draw in Europe, especially with City having to beat Atletico, and then one of Chelsea or Real Madrid to set up a prospective final with one another. Liverpool's draw was slightly easier, but an expected semi-final with Bayern Munich would be a huge obstacle.

Except while Liverpool beat Benfica as everyone thought they would, Bayern didn't hold up their side of the bargain against Villarreal, seventh in La Liga. Liverpool have now gone from 50/50 contenders to strong favourites to reach the Champions League final again, while City will be slight favourites against Real Madrid, but they know they are facing the ultimate experts in the competition.

Still, the chances of a City vs Liverpool