Pep Guardiola's respect for Antonio Conte leads to Champions League hint in Man City v Spurs

It’s an imperfect and often repeated question for the pub, Twitter and beyond.

If it was the Champions League final tomorrow, what side should Pep Guardiola pick for Manchester City?

It feels safe to say most people would not be too far away from the line up Guardiola selected to face Tottenham and Antonio Conte — a coach he respects hugely.

“When I watch his teams I feel there is something new I can learn and I can improve,” he said at Friday’s pre-match news conference.

For such occasions, Guardiola likes to have his most trusted lieutenants to call upon and this does plenty to explain Ilkay Gundogan making back-to-back Premier League starts for the first time since early December.

Against tacticians who Guardiola feels are close to being his equals, it makes sense to have the player who best embodies the manager’s footballing brain on the field.

Irrespective of the role he is given, from cherishing possession to making game-breaking and goalscoring runs into the box, Gundogan has a rare intuitive feel for the game.

Any of Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden or Kevin De Bruyne could take on false nine duties at any given time against Spurs, but Gundogan offers a greater guarantee of control against a Tottenham side who will aim to impose their physicality and attack rapidly from Conte’s trademark 3-4-3.

A more open, attacking City collected rich rewards in Lisbon in midweek as they swatted aside Sporting 5-0, but there were elements of that performance that did not entirely please Guardiola.

“The fact that they’ve lost three times means they’ll be more difficult tomorrow, for sure,” he said of Spurs’ recent form. “It’s difficult for top teams to lose four times in a row.”

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