Football

Owen makes Champions League predictions as Man City warned about Lyon star


Michael Owen predicts Manchester City will emerge victorious from their Champions League quarter-final showdown with Lyon.

But the England icon also sent a warning to City boss Pep Guardiola over the form of Memphis Depay, who has scored in each of his six appearances in the tournament this season.

The Sky Blues head into the tie full of confidence after their 4-2 aggregate triumph over 13-time champions of Europe Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, their French opposition battled to victory over Juventus in their last-16 tie, during which Depay scored a vital penalty in Turin to send his side through on away goals.

Previewing the match in his BetVictor blog, Owen touched on the in-form Dutchman but backed City to come out on top in an entertaining fixture.

Owen has made his quarter-final predictions

“City will need to be aware of the threat of Memphis Depay who has now scored in each of his last six Champions League appearances,” the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United forward wrote.

“However, Pep Guardiola knows from first-hand experience as both a player and a manager, just how difficult this competition is to win and their status as favourites is well deserved.

“City will never have a better chance to finally achieve the ultimate goal of their Abu Dhabi-based owners and I’m predicting a 3-1 win for Manchester City in this one.”

Depay has scored 15 goals in 20 games this season

Owen also made predictions for the other match-ups, including the box-office meeting between Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

“This is a really tough game to call but I think Bayern are in better form and with [Robert] Lewandowski in their ranks, I think the German side will progress to the semi-final with a 2-1 win,” he added.

Elsewhere, French champions Paris Saint-Germain meet Serie A entertainers Atalanta and Owen anticipates a nail-biter.

“I fancy that this could be closer than many people think but with Kylian Mbappe likely to be fit for PSG and Josep Ilicic who has already scored five goals for Atalanta in this year’s competition likely to miss out through injury, I fancy a 2-1 win for Thomas Tuchel’s side.”

Finally, the 40-year-old predicted Atletico Madrid’s experience on the big stage will see them beat RB Leipzig to book their semi-final place.

“Diego Simeone and his men have developed a never-say-die attitude and an uncanny knack of finding a way to win,” Owen wrote. “I am going for a 2-1 victory for the Spanish side in this one.”

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