Manchester City have been given a dream tie against Basel in the draw for the last 16 of the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola will be delighted to have been handed a relatively straight forward clash against the underdogs.
City suffered their only defeat of the season in their last group game, but are regarded as England’s best shot at Champions league glory.
Here we run down all you need to know about the tie.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME THEY PLAYED BASEL
This will be the first meeting of Basel and City.
ODDS FOR FIRST TIE
City win – 4/6
Draw – 14/5
Basel to win – 4/1
WHEN ARE THE GAMES PLAYED
City travel to Basel on Wednesday February 14 and then close out the tie at the Etihad on Wednesday March 7.
BASEL’S STAR PLAYER
The Ivorian midfielder was the star man in Basel’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the group stages.
Geoffrey Serey Die ran the midfield and is a shielding force in front of the back four. City will need to break the 33-year-old down to get to Basel’s defence.
HOW BASEL CAME THROUGH THEIR GROUP
Basel were in the same group as United and a shock victory in the penultimate group game over the English side helped secure their spot in the knockout stages.
After being beaten in the opening game, Basel won four of their remaining five games. The Swiss side are known to English fans having knocked Tottenham out the Europe League in 2013 and completed a Champions League double over Chelsea later that year.
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