Manchester City gained ground on Arsenal last week, cutting the Gunners' lead at the top of the Premier League to six points.

City, who have a game in hand, beat lowly Southampton last time out and on Saturday face another relegation battler in the form of Leicester City, who will be under the stewardship of Dean Smith for the first time.

Arsenal, meanwhile, take on West Ham in a London Derby. The Hammers are also fighting at the wrong end of the table, though two wins from their last three league matches has given David Moyes' team some confidence.

Nottingham Forest are another team scrapping for survival, and Steve Cooper will be looking to make home advantage count against Manchester United.

Likewise, Leeds United will hope the Elland Road faithful help propel them to victory against Liverpool, who they beat at Anfield earlier in the campaign.

With the help of Opta data, here are some key predictions ahead of another fascinating weekend of Premier League action.

Manchester City v Leicester City

City have won 10 of their last 12 Premier League games against Leicester City (L2), winning the last four in a row since a 5-2 home defeat in September 2020.

Having been beaten in seven of their last eight Premier League games (D1), Leicester have now lost 19 league matches overall this term. Not since 2001-02 (20) have the Foxes lost 20+ league matches in one season, and should they lose against City, it will be the joint-second earliest they have ever hit 20 defeats in a Football League campaign.

Leicester midfielder James Maddison has scored in this exact fixture in each of the last two campaigns; only two visiting players have scored a Premier League goal at Etihad Stadium in three consecutive seasons – Collins John (2004-05 to 2006-07) and Tim Cahill (2008-09 to 2010-11).

Best bet – Erling Haaland to score: Is there any way to stop Haaland? Many teams have tried, and nearly all have failed. The Norway international is already on 30 league goals this season, averaging a strike every 73 minutes with a shot conversion rate of 33.3 per cent. Given Leicester's defensive frailties, the 22-year-old will be licking his lips.

Long shot – Leicester to keep a clean sheet: The Foxes have not prevented the opposition from scoring in a league match since November, when they beat West Ham 2-0. If they are to get out of trouble, then interim boss Smith has to find a way to tighten things up at the back.

Opta prediction: Leicester won four of their first five Premier League visits to Man City (L1) but have since lost five of their last six games at the Etihad Stadium (W1). It is no surprise, then, that Opta's supercomputer has City as huge favourites (75.1 per cent), while Leicester are given only an 8.5 per cent chance of pulling off a win. 

West Ham v Arsenal

Arsenal have won 11 Premier League away games this season, only winning more on the road in 2001-02 (14) and 2004-05 (12). The Gunners have the most wins (11), most points (35), most goals scored (30) and fewest goals conceded (11) of any team away from home in the Premier League this term.

They have also won eight Premier League games against West Ham after conceding the first goal, including a 3-1 victory in the reverse fixture in December. It is both the most wins Arsenal have against an opponent when conceding first, and the most defeats West Ham have against a side when opening the scoring in the competition.

Arsenal have scored 72 goals from an xG of 60.1 in the Premier League this season, with their difference of +11.9 bettered only by Manchester City (12.2). Meanwhile, West Ham have scored 27 goals from an xG of 38.4, with their difference of -11.4 the biggest negative difference this term.

Best bet – Arsenal to score first and avoid defeat: The Gunners are the only team yet to lose a Premier League game when scoring the first goal this season, winning 18 and drawing three. However, they did let a two-goal lead slip in their 2-2 draw at Liverpool last time out.

Long shot – West Ham to win: West Ham have won just two of their last 29 Premier League games against Arsenal (D5 L22), who have only lost three of their 26 Premier League visits to West Ham (W14 D9) and have won nine of their last 14 away games against the Hammers (D4 L1).

Opta prediction: Given West Ham's woeful record against the Gunners, their chances of success are ranked at only 28.8 per cent by Opta, with the draw at 28.4 per cent. The likelihood of Arsenal winning is 42.8 per cent.

Nottingham Forest v Manchester United

This is Forest's first home league game against United since February 1999, when they lost 8-1 with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scoring four times as a substitute.

Forest are winless (D3 L6) and without a clean sheet in their last nine Premier League games. In fact, Forest are winless in all 23 league games in which they have conceded this season (D8 L15), with all six of their victories being to nil.

United have lost three of their last four away games in the Premier League (W1), having only lost three of their first 10 on the road this season (W5 D2). The Red Devils have conceded 29 away goals in 14 away league games this term; not since 1978-79 have they hit 30 goals conceded within their first 15 away matches of a league campaign.

Best bet – United to avoid defeat: United have won their last nine games against Forest in all competitions, beating them three times this season alone (once in the league, twice in the EFL Cup). The Red Devils have beaten a side four times in a season twice before, doing so against Sheffield Wednesday in 1993-94 and Chelsea in 2010-11.

Long shot – Jesse Lingard to score: Lingard has yet to score for Forest in the league. He could become the third former United player to score his first Premier League goal for a side against the Red Devils, after Keith Gillespie at Sheffield United in 2006-07, and Dan James for Fulham this season.

Opta prediction: United have won their last six Premier League games against Nottingham Forest, scoring at least three goals on each occasion, and they are the favourites for Sunday's game, with Opta suggesting they have a 52.6 per cent likelihood of taking three points. Forest are given a 20.6 per cent chance. The draw is ranked at 26.8 per cent.

Leeds United v Liverpool

Leeds slumped to a 5-1 defeat to Crystal Palace in their last home game, and sit just two points above the bottom three. Depending on results elsewhere, the Whites could be in the relegation zone by the time Monday's game comes around. They are looking for only their second Premier League double over Liverpool, previously achieving that feat in the 2000-01 campaign.

Liverpool have not lost any of their last five league visits to Elland Road against Leeds (W3 D2) since losing 4-3 in November 2000, with Mark Viduka scoring all four for the hosts that day.

The Reds are averaging 0.87 points per game away from home in the Premier League this season (13 points in 15 away games), their lowest in a campaign since 1992-93 (0.76 – 16 points in 21 games). 

Best bet – Mohamed Salah to be involved in a goal: Salah has seven goals in five Premier League appearances against Leeds for Liverpool, scoring in their 3-0 win at Elland Road last season. No Reds player has more Premier League goals against Leeds than Salah (Robbie Fowler also seven), while only Gordon Hodgson has more in their league history (nine).

Long shot – Under 1.5 goals: Leeds have shipped 10 goals in their three Premier League games in April (W1 L2), more than any other team so far this month. Liverpool, who are winless in their last five games in all competitions (D2 L3), have netted 15 times in their last five top-flight meetings with the Whites.

Opta prediction: Despite their dismal form on the road, Liverpool are made big favourites by Opta (61.4 per cent). A Leeds win is ranked at 15.8 per cent, with a draw forecast at 22.8 per cent.

Liverpool have been fined £37,500 by the Football Association (FA) for an incident that saw their players surround the referee in their recent 4-1 Premier League defeat at Manchester City.

The incident occurred in the 34th minute of the game at the Etihad Stadium with the score at 1-1 when City midfielder Rodri committed a cynical foul on Cody Gakpo.

The Spaniard had already been booked for a similar infringement just minutes earlier, but referee Simon Hooper refrained from showing a second yellow, which would have meant a red card.

Diogo Jota, Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk and captain Jordan Henderson approached the official to appeal the decision, which has led to the FA fining the club.

According to a statement from The FA, Liverpool admitted it had "failed to ensure its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and/or do not behave in a way which is improper".

The FA announced on Thursday it would be taking "no further action" against assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis after he appeared to aim an elbow at Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson in last Sunday's draw with Arsenal.

Liverpool's next game sees them travel to Leeds United on Monday.

Heavyweight clubs including Manchester City, Liverpool, Napoli and Milan are reportedly closely monitoring the exciting Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga due to his affordable release clause.

Veiga, 20, is enjoying the best season of his young career, with the skilful central midfielder forcing his way into manager Carlos Carvahal's best XI.

Playing mostly as an attacking midfielder, Veiga has racked up nine goals in 26 LaLiga appearances, earning his first call-up to the Spain Under-21 team along the way.

His play in one of the top leagues in the world has caught the eye of midfielder-hungry Champions League sides, with his release clause providing a more affordable alternative to some of the other top central midfielders on the market in the upcoming transfer window.

TOP STORY – PREMIER LEAGUE AND SERIE A GIANTS CLAMOUR FOR VEIGA

Veiga is said to have a €40million (£35m) release clause, which Galician newspaper Atlantico says has caught the attention of Manchester United, City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle United, Napoli and Milan.

The report states Celta Vigo are prepared for a big club to come and activate that clause in the off-season, and they will not budge or negotiate a lower figure.

The emergence of Veiga provides another option for clubs who have been closely following Brighton and Hove Albion 21-year-old Moises Caicedo, who is believed to be valued around £80m, or £100m-plus teenager Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund.

ROUND-UP

– The Guardian is reporting Liverpool, Chelsea and United are the leading candidates in the chase for 24-year-old Brighton and Argentina standout Alexis Mac Allister, with Puroboca.com quoting the player's father, Carlos, as saying: "It is most likely that Alexis will already be playing in another team next July."

– According to Foot Mercato, Nice are hoping to receive a €60m (£53m) fee in return for 22-year-old midfielder Khephren Thuram, with Paris Saint-Germain, Dortmund, Liverpool and City all said to be circling the France international.

– Roma are reportedly in advanced talks with 24-year-old Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar ahead of his contract expiring in a few months, although they will face competition from Real Betis and Eintracht Frankfurt, per Fabrizio Romano.

– 90min is reporting Chelsea are confident they will be able to sign 24-year-old Mason Mount to a new long-term contract.

– According to CBS Sports, Al Nassr are targeting either Zinedine Zidane or Jose Mourinho as their future manager after the club where Cristiano Ronaldo plays fired Rudi Garcia.

Bayern Munich's 3-0 defeat to Manchester City was bad enough, but it has been compounded by claims Sadio Mane left team-mate Leroy Sane with a cut lip after a dressing-room bust-up.

The result in Manchester on Tuesday has left Bayern with a long way to come back in next Wednesday's second leg of the Champions League quarter-final.

Their hopes look bleak, but the on-pitch struggle might just be the beginning of their problems.

Bayern have yet to comment on the claims that came to light on Wednesday, with German newspaper Bild reporting Mane reacted angrily to comments from Sane and lashed out, hitting his team-mate.

There may also be concern within the Bayern ranks about how details of the behind-closed-doors incident leaked out into the media.

For new head coach Thomas Tuchel, the drama was something he could have done without, not least because Mane has already been struggling to live up to his marquee status since arriving from Liverpool.

The Senegalese forward, who joined for an initial €32million last June, sits only sixth on the list of goal involvements for Bayern this season, after managing 11 goals and five assists in 32 games.

Midfielder Jamal Musiala heads that list with 27 involvements (15 goals, 12 assists), and Sane (13 goals, seven assists) is also among those in front of Mane.

 The Mane and Sane alleged clash is a topic Bayern will have to address at some point, and that may come on Thursday.

Should it not, coach Tuchel is due to hold a press conference on Friday ahead of the home Bundesliga game against Hoffenheim.

The former Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea boss has had a rocky time of it since being appointed successor to the sacked Julian Nagelsmann.

His reign began with a sparkling league win against title rivals Dortmund, but a DFB-Pokal exit followed at the hands of Freiburg, and now hopes of European glory are hanging by a fraying thread.

Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn reacted on Wednesday to the team's bad result at the Etihad Stadium, saying on Twitter: "Even the day after we are still bitterly disappointed. We imagined it differently. But there is still a second leg and I've experienced a lot in football myself."

Joao Cancelo has spent the second half of this season on loan at Bayern Munich, having fallen out of starting XI favour at Manchester City.

The Portugal full-back had penned a contract extension with City in January last year, tying him down to 2027.

But Cancelo's time at Bayern has reportedly not convinced the Germans to pursue a permanent deal, creating uncertainty about his future.

TOP STORY – MADRID TO MAKE CANCELO BID

Real Madrid are interested in a move for Joao Cancelo and will submit a bid of around €60million (£52.8m) to Manchester City for his services, claims Fichajes.

The report claims Madrid are eager to improve their current first-choice full-backs Ferland Mendy and Dani Carvajal, hence the interest in the Portuguese.

Los Blancos like the versatility of Cancelo, who has made 13 appearances with only eight starts since joining Bayern in January.

ROUND-UP

– Florian Plettenberg claims Liverpool's shortlist for midfielders includes West Ham United's Declan Rice, Wolves' Matheus Nunes, Inter's Nicolo Barella and Brighton and Hove Albion's Moises Caicedo having dropped out of the race for Jude Bellingham.

– Barcelona are ready to ramp up their advances to sign Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan after being impressed by his midweek Champion League display against Bayern Munich, reports Sport.

– Bayern midfielder Ryan Gravenberch has interest from Premier League trio Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, reports Footmercato.

– Chris Smalling is set to pen a new two-year deal with Roma according to iSport, amid interest from Inter, Juventus and some Premier League clubs.

– Bild claims RB Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer will join Bayern on a four-year deal in the off-season. Laimer's Leipzig deal ends at the end of this season.

Bayern Munich condemned racism in the "strongest possible terms" after Dayot Upamecano was abused online following his mistake against Manchester City on Tuesday.

Upamecano was caught in possession by Jack Grealish ahead of the lead up to City's second goal in their Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Etihad Stadium, with the hosts punishing the France international's error as Erling Haaland crossed for Bernardo Silva to nod home.

Pep Guardiola's men went on to win 3-0, giving Bayern a huge task ahead of the return leg next week at the Allianz Arena, and Upamecano was subjected to racist abuse on social media following the match.

Bayern commented on Upamecano's recent Instagram post: "All of us at FC Bayern condemn racism in the strongest possible terms!

"The entire club stands behind you, Upa!"

Upamecano is the latest player to be abused after FIFA vowed they would clamp down on online discrimination prior to the 2022 World Cup.

FIFA launched a new service following the racial abuse of England's Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford after their missed penalties at Euro 2020, though Upamecano's Bayern team-mate Kingsley Coman would go on to receive comments following his failed spot-kick in France's final defeat to Argentina in Qatar.

Borussia Dortmund's England international midfielder Jude Bellingham is expected to be the topic of widespread speculation in the next transfer window.

Several top clubs are circling to sign the 19-year-old, with Dortmund slapping a staggering £130million transfer fee on him as their asking price.

Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool have all been linked with Bellingham, who is contracted to the German side until 2025.

TOP STORY – REDS PULL OUT OF BELLINGHAM RACE

Liverpool have withdrawn from the race to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, according to The Athletic.

The Reds had previously made him their number one priority signing but have now opted out of the race given the price tag and impact that would have on their off-season transfer budget.

Football.London claims Liverpool will instead turn their attention to Chelsea's Mason Mount as a priority midfield target.

Other potential targets mentioned by The Athletic are Brighton and Hove Albion pair Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister along with Bayern Munich's Ryan Gravenberch.

ROUND-UP

– Real Madrid are pondering a free transfer move for Liverpool's Roberto Firmino, according to El Nacional. The Brazilian will depart Anfield when his contract expires at the end of this season.

– Marca claims Madrid are also interested in Villarreal's Samuel Chukwueze, who netted twice against Los Blancos on Saturday. The Nigerian is contracted until 2024 and has a €100m buyout clause on the deal, although Villarreal may reportedly be willing to accept around half of that at the end of this term.

– Bayern Munich have come into the picture to sign Napoli forward Victor Osimhen with the German champions weighing up a bid for the Nigerian, reports Sky Germany.

– Football Insider reports Brighton and Hove Albion are willing to accept a £80m bid from Manchester United for midfielder Caicedo, who penned a new long-term deal until 2027 in March following January interest from Arsenal.

– AS claims Chelsea have held talks with Barcelona midfielder Gavi's agent to discuss a potential free transfer to the Blues in the off-season.

Luciano Spalletti wants Pep Guardiola and Paolo Maldini to know he is chief among their biggest fans, with the Napoli boss seeking to make peace with both men.

Speaking on the eve of his team's Champions League quarter-final against Milan, Spalletti stressed his recent spat with Rossoneri sporting director Maldini was no reflection of his admiration for the legendary former defender.

He also stressed he had no problems with Guardiola after recent toing and froing through the media.

Manchester City head coach Guardiola hailed Napoli as Europe's top team when the Champions League quarter-final line-up took shape, but that praise was palmed away by Spalletti.

The Napoli boss saw it as a ploy – "a game to build us up, so they can knock us down" – but he stressed on Tuesday he also recognised it as a compliment.

That was after Guardiola reacted on Monday to Spalletti's remarks by saying: "I don't want to talk about Napoli because the manager will be grumpy with me. So sensitive in Italy."

This time, Spalletti looked to calm the narrative.

"I learned a lot from Guardiola," Spalletti said. "Everyone has learnt something from Guardiola. For me, Guardiola is like [Jurgen] Klopp, [Roberto] De Zerbi, all the amazing managers.

"Guardiola, Klopp and De Zerbi are among the football managers I always look at. So if my expression was misunderstood by Guardiola, I'm sorry because I'm truly happy when a manager like him says good words about Napoli.

"It would take me days and days to appreciate Guardiola's former Barcelona."

A tunnel dispute involving Spalletti and Maldini was picked up by television cameras before the second half of Napoli's shock recent 4-0 home loss to Milan in Serie A.

He was quoted as describing Maldini's behaviour as being "disrespectful" shortly after the event.

According to Spalletti, that April 2 incident could be written off as "just standard chat" or a "small fight".

Napoli's 64-year-old coach even said he has a Maldini shirt on his wall at home and was "totally OK with him".

Manchester City played like a team ready to win the Champions League as they swatted aside Bayern Munich, according to Owen Hargreaves.

City beat Bayern 3-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie, with Pep Guardiola seeing off his former side to put one foot in the last four.

Guardiola and City have consistently come up short in the biggest moments in this competition since they first linked up in 2016.

There have been multiple collapses, while their only run to the final ended in defeat to current Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel, then in charge of Chelsea.

But Hargreaves, who played for both City and Bayern, saw something different in Tuesday's performance at the Etihad Stadium.

"That's how you win the Champions League," the former midfielder said on BT Sport. "They were absolutely brilliant.

"Defensively, that was a completely different Manchester City. They were flawless."

Ex-Bayern striker Mario Gomez, in his role on Prime Video, was similarly impressed by a City team who "have everything".

"They have a goalkeeper [Ederson] who suits this team perfectly, defenders where you can see they love to go into every duel," Gomez said.

"They have strategists who set the rhythm, one-on-one players on the wing who change every situation, and they have a killer up front [Erling Haaland] who scores goals out of nothing and then even hits wonderful crosses.

"I think if Bayern don't manage the miracle in the second leg, we've seen the Champions League winners today. This team can also suffer – they have everything."

Pep Guardiola recognised Manchester City's 3-0 win against Bayern Munich was "a really, really good result" but stressed the job was not yet done.

A first-leg demolition of the German champions means City would have to capitulate woefully in Bavaria next Wednesday to miss out on a semi-final place.

This City team are on a nine-game winning streak and have hit at least three goals in seven of those victories, easing into a spectacular stride as the end of the season approaches.

Goals from Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland – whose 45th of the season put the seal on the win – left Thomas Tuchel's Bayern in a desperate position ahead of the rematch.

Guardiola, a former Bayern head coach, made a point of complimenting the Bundesliga giants, who had their best spell of the game early in the second half but were ultimately put away ruthlessly.

He called on City to finish the job by winning in Munich.

"Of course, when you are there you realise how good they are as a team, Bayern Munich," Guardiola told BT Sport.

"During 55, 60 minutes it was a tight, tight game and in a lot of moments they were better than us."

He said the second goal from Bernardo Silva "helped a lot", coming in the 70th minute, moments after Bayern brought Sadio Mane off the bench.

"We made some changes and our pressing was more effective," Guardiola added.

"With the ball we were better too, and I'm happy for the result, but I lived three years in Munich. I know the Bayern Munich mentality, I know the quality they have.

"It's a really, really good result, but we have still the second leg to play. The players know it. It's not necessary to tell them here in front of you, tomorrow, or before the game, how difficult they are. They know it. [Bayern] are a really good team, but we're going to take the mentality to play, to play, to play, and to try to win the game."

The breakthrough goal from Rodri in the 27th minute was a majestic strike from the Spanish midfielder, worth the wait as he opened his Champions League goals account in his 44th match in the competition.

A curling left-footed strike from 25 yards, it arced gorgeously into the top-left corner.

"What a goal, yeah," said Guardiola.

But the defensive work from his team was equally pleasing. With Kyle Walker again only a substitute, the combination of John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake kept Bayern goalless, Ederson making a string of saves in the second half from lively former City winger Leroy Sane.

"Of course how they defended, the back four today, Manu, John, Ru and Nathan, they were amazing," Guardiola said. "They had the quality to defend against these threats."

Thomas Tuchel "fell in love" with Bayern Munich in a damaging 3-0 defeat to Manchester City he described as "a lot of fun" on Tuesday.

Bayern's hopes of advancing to the Champions League semi-finals look to be in tatters following a one-sided scoreline in their last-eight first leg in Manchester.

City were undoubtedly deserving winners, with Opta counting four big chances to Bayern's one.

But the Bundesliga giants bossed 56 per cent of the possession as City were forced to play without the ball; only on four occasions under Pep Guardiola have they seen less of the play.

That might have been the source of Tuchel's optimism then, as the man who led Chelsea to a 2021 final victory over City revelled in a loss that will likely cost his new side.

"I don't agree with the result at all," he told Prime Video. "We were punished in phases in which we were the better team. We were simply brutally punished today.

"I thought our performance was very good until 2-0. I don't want to talk down the result; I saw a very good performance until the 70th minute.

"I think we deserved at least one goal and gave away one or two too many. I think our players were lacking a bit in confidence and form. Of course, the result is bitter for us.

"I fell in love with my team a little today, the way they performed. Even if sounds strange, that was a lot of fun."

If you didn't see this coming, you can't have been paying attention.

Bayern Munich were bulldozed by a spectacular Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, a 3-0 dismissal of the 10-in-a-row Bundesliga winners a sign of the times.

It was a bad night for the men in red, a desperate one for Dayot Upamecano; a match to remember for City, and perhaps the moment the doom-mongers had seen coming.

How can this City team be stopped? They were terrific and dominant, save from a 20-minute spell at the start of the second half when Bayern gamely gave just about as good as they got.

A team into which mind-blowing sums have been invested were destined to scale heady heights such as these, though. The wealth of talent at Pep Guardiola's disposal is unsurpassed, the Abu Dhabi ownership having backed the manager to bring together an elite pool of players.

This is why some with a Bayern allegiance would like German football's tight ownership rules to be relaxed. For now, a tight rein on spending means Bayern cannot possibly compete in the transfer market with City.

Twenty-five years ago, City were hurtling towards relegation to England's third tier. Now they surely are everyone's Champions League favourites, ripe to be crowned kings of Europe for the first time with one foot in the semi-finals.

Erling Haaland's 45th goal of the season put the seal on this rout, leaving Bayern facing near-certain elimination in front of their own fans in next Wednesday's second leg.

Rodri's wonder strike had broken the deadlock, and Bernardo Silva hit the second to quell Bayern's brief resurgence.

Norwegian Haaland has managed the most competitive goals by a player for a Premier League club in a single season. And if you didn't see that coming, you can't have been paying attention. Deadly for Borussia Dortmund, Haaland was bound to score bucketloads in this City team.

Bayern, traditionally the club that scoop up the best talent from within the Bundesliga, had been powerless when the chequebooks came out for Haaland.

Haaland fancied this occasion early on and took aim from an outlandish angle, from an opportunity given a miniscule xG rating of 0.028. The wild slash with his left boot soared over the bar.

Jamal Musiala was denied by an outstanding block from Ruben Dias as Bayern carved out the best chance of the opening 25 minutes, but then £62.6million man Rodri rocked the Germans with his sensational finish.

The wickedly swerving strike with his left foot came from 25 yards, as Bayern waited for a pass from the player who had not scored in 43 previous Champions League appearances.

Former City winger Leroy Sane fired 18 inches wide from 30 yards to serve a reminder of Bayern's threat, but shooting from that range hinted at desperation.

By half-time, Rodri had passing accuracy of 90.3 per cent and had won six of his eight duels. He had also won possession on 10 occasions, more than anyone else on the pitch, while losing the ball just four times. Even setting aside the goal, he had been magnificent, and City's defending was terrific, with Ederson yet to make a save.

Sane drew a first save from Ederson in the first minute of the second half, and the Brazilian did not make a clean catch, rather juggling the ball. He made a better stop two minutes later, and again it was Sane with the strike after being played through by Musiala.

City could not take advantage of haphazard Bayern defending as Joshua Kimmich blocked Haaland's thumping shot, but that was a sign of trouble to come for Bayern.

Bayern brought on former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane in the 69th minute, but it was 2-0 seconds later, before Mane got to touch the ball.

Upamecano looked to step out of defence but hopelessly lost the ball to Jack Grealish, whose clever backheel played in Haaland. As Bayern braced for him to shoot, the Norwegian crossed instead and Bernardo Silva planted a powerful header through Yann Sommer's grasp.

Sommer saved from substitute Julian Alvarez as Bayern's defence was ripped open again, and the third goal arrived when World Cup winner Alvarez crossed from the right flank, £50million centre-back John Stones headed across goal from the far post, and Haaland, the most coveted player in Europe last summer, volleyed in calmly from a chance he was never going to miss.

Joao Cancelo, on loan to Bayern from City, was booed onto the pitch when he appeared as a substitute. Bayern don't think they have the funds to buy the City cast-off, which sums up the difference between these outfits.

City have won their last 11 home games against German sides in this competition by a 42-10 aggregate, and Haaland has 11 goals in seven Champions League games for City now.

It was entirely predictable he would get on the scoresheet at the Etihad Stadium, but here's a thing that changed for Haaland in this game: as well as taking his goals tally to six in eight appearances against Bayern, he finished on the winning side.

He had lost all seven games he played for Dortmund against Bayern.

Things change once you join City. This is a winning machine, a team on a nine-game streak now, and nights like this make you fear for Arsenal, sat increasingly precariously at the top of the Premier League. They make you fear the rest of Europe will be powerless to prevent a rhapsody in blue come the Champions League final in Istanbul, too.

Rodri wants to see Manchester City go on the attack again against Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, believing they did not finish the job at the Etihad Stadium.

City beat Bayern 3-0 on Tuesday in a dominant display, with goals from Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland putting Pep Guardiola's men in control against his former club.

Rodri's spectacular first-half strike was his first in the Champions League and came "in a moment when we were struggling", he told BT Sport.

It "gave us a bit of confidence to keep going", the midfielder added, and City certainly did that, good value for further goals as they laid siege to Yann Sommer's goal.

Guardiola's side had only 44 per cent of the possession – their fifth-lowest mark of his tenure – but clearly posed the bigger threat, beating Bayern 1.92 to 0.83 on xG.

"Sometimes we have to understand we cannot have 80 per cent of the possession," Rodri said. "They play, too, and have talented players to keep the ball, and we don't feel comfortable with the ball.

"But we understood perfectly where the game was and waited for the moment."

Assessing the tie, the Spain international said: "We don't think it's done. Of course, we know where we're going, we know the team. It's a good result, and we're happy because of the performance. We don't think much on that.

"We're facing now Leicester in the Premier League, and when we face them back at their home, we have to expect another final.

"I think we have to try to win the game if we want to go [through]. We cannot be conservative."

Manchester City took a huge stride towards the Champions League semi-finals with a 3-0 win over Pep Guardiola's former club Bayern Munich in Tuesday's last-eight first leg.

An intense Etihad Stadium encounter pitted Guardiola against Bayern for the first time since leaving Germany, and he comfortably got the better of old foe Thomas Tuchel, whose Chelsea beat City in the 2021 final.

Rodri's spectacular first Champions League strike gave City the edge at half-time, before Bernardo Silva added the second as pressure ramped up on the Bayern goal heading into the final 20 minutes, and Erling Haaland's 45th goal of the season – an outright record for a Premier League player – soon followed.

Guardiola and City have let slip all manner of leads in this competition against weaker opposition than Bayern, but they were rampant by full-time and head into the return match with full command of the tie.

The breakthrough goal came after 27 minutes as Rodri evaded pressure from Jamal Musiala by chopping onto his left foot 25 yards from goal before curling high past Yann Sommer, and City went in pursuit of a swift second.

Both Dayot Upamecano and Sommer failed to deal with a cross from the City right, with the goalkeeper merely helping it into the path of Ilkay Gundogan but responding with an instinctive save.

Although Leroy Sane led a response as his shot wide before half-time was followed by three on target following the restart – the best of them drawing a low stop from Ederson – the mix-ups in the Bayern back line only increased in number as the match wore on.

Sommer saved from Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias in quick succession but failed to get enough on Silva's header after Upamecano had gifted the ball to Jack Grealish to set in motion the City attack.

Another stop from Julian Alvarez looked to have kept Bayern in the tie, yet Haaland got his goal from a John Stones knockdown to leave the Bundesliga giants an almighty task back in Germany.

Bayern Munich have reportedly fallen out of love with the idea of Tottenham striker Harry Kane and are instead prioritising Eintracht Frankfurt frontman Randal Kolo Muani.

Kolo Muani, 24, has been one of Europe's breakout forwards this season. After arriving on a free transfer ahead of the current season, he has scored a career-high 19 goals in 38 appearances.

The explosive striker was rewarded with an international call-up by France for the World Cup in Qatar, scoring his first senior goal in the semi-final against Morocco before having his potential tournament-winning strike saved by Argentina's Emiliano Martinez deep into extra-time in the final.

His rise onto the world stage has not gone unnoticed, and now Bayern view him as one of their top targets at the position.

TOP STORY – BAYERN NOW VALUE KOLO MUANI ABOVE KANE

According to Sky Sports Germany, Bayern are desperate to recruit a new star striker in the upcoming transfer window, but since the departure of Julian Nagelsmann "Harry Kane is no longer very popular" internally.

Another target mentioned is Napoli's Victor Osimhen, but an asking price well over €100million makes that an unrealistic proposition, while Benfica's Goncalo Ramos is also mentioned as a potential alternative.

But Kolo Muani is now supposedly at the top of the list, even though Frankfurt have informed them that they will have to fork out around €100m to pry away the talent after he recently signed an extension – with no release clause – tying him to the club until 2027.

ROUND-UP

– Football Insider is reporting Aston Villa have strong interest in 27-year-old Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who would reportedly cost a club-record £45million.

– According to Foot Mercato, Paris Saint-Germain are big fans of 23-year-old Nice centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo and will make a run at him in the next transfer window.

– Brighton and Hove Albion are confident 18-year-old striker Evan Ferguson will sign a new contract with the club despite interest from Manchester United and Tottenham, per the Daily Mail.

– Sport is reporting Barcelona's 19-year-old left-back Alejandro Balde is close to signing a new four-year contract that will include a £1billion release clause.

– According to Sport Bild, Arsenal and Chelsea are both investigating the price of 24-year-old Wolfsburg right-back Ridle Baku.