Chapter 17 The Upcoming Fixtures

March 17th, 12:00 Central European Time, 19:00 Dragon Country Standard Time, the Champions League quarter-final draw was held at UEFA headquarters.

Manchester City, the only remaining team from the Premier League, drew Juventus, the Serie A powerhouse. The other pairing in the same half of the bracket was Borussia Dortmund versus Barcelona.

Zhao Gang was quite satisfied with this result, as Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona were the opponents he very, very much wanted to face.

Dortmund's Westfalenstadion was an away game he had dreamed of challenging, and Barcelona was also a dream opponent.

As long as they could defeat the Old Lady, whether it was Borussia Dortmund or Barcelona, the outcome would be good.

Meanwhile, some media outlets that had been waiting for Manchester City to collapse continued to talk them down.

After all, Manchester City had almost crashed against Monaco, proving that Manchester City was not as stable in the Champions League as they were in the league.

Juventus, as the dominant team in Serie A, excelled at defense. These media outlets believed that Juventus's defensive capabilities would definitely be able to limit Manchester City over the course of the two legs.

The defense of Monaco's young players had already given Manchester City a lot of trouble, let alone Juventus's old monsters?

Wouldn't they completely break Zhao Gang's mentality?

Moreover, in the league, Manchester City would face another challenge from Arsenal.

This would definitely be a tough battle.

In the League Cup final, Arsenal had almost overturned Manchester City. If it hadn't been for Zhao Gang's explosive performance, Manchester City would have lost the trophy.

Now, Arsenal had no hope in the league, had been eliminated from the Champions League by Bayern, and had been knocked out of the FA Cup.

This league match would be their last chance to prove themselves this season!

If they could take down Manchester City, Wenger's position would be as stable as Mount Tai.

Therefore, Arsenal's fighting spirit would inevitably be extremely strong.

Before the Champions League began, Manchester City still had the FA Cup second-leg match against Chelsea to play.

In early April, there would also be a week with two league games.

Even more troubling was that there would also be international match days during this period.

Most of Manchester City's key players would be called up.

In the past, Guardiola had been quite content that Zhao Gang wouldn't have to travel back and forth, but now Zhao Gang also had to return to Dragon Country to participate in the World Cup qualifiers.

So, the next month or so would be another devilish schedule for Manchester City.

On March 18th, the day after receiving the Champions League draw results, Manchester City would face a very eager Arsenal at home.

"Yes, Arsenal is a very good club. In the previous League Cup final, they showed a very strong competitive level. We were a little luckier, winning the championship through extra time.

They have a very glorious history, and it is very difficult for any club to defeat them.

All we can do is give it our all, and our home ground is also one of our advantages.

As for the upcoming schedule?

Yes, Arsenal, Chelsea, Juventus... this is definitely not going to be easy, especially since some players also have to participate in the World Cup qualifiers.

But we will not criticize or complain.

We have to find a way to overcome all the difficulties.

Fortunately, we have very, very good players. Aguero and Silva have gradually recovered and are able to go on the field and adapt to the game.

We also have a genius player like Zhao, and we are very confident that we can get through this difficult period.

First of all, we start with the first step, use all our enthusiasm, and meet the challenge of Arsenal."

"Zhao has now grown into Manchester City's most stable attacking point, which has been confirmed in the Premier League, League Cup, FA Cup, and Champions League, so I am quite optimistic about this league match."

If Arsenal were challenging Manchester City away before the League Cup, most people would probably be optimistic about Manchester City winning the game.

After all, in their first encounter, Manchester City cleanly defeated Arsenal five to zero.

However, after the League Cup, Arsenal's explosive performance won the trust of many fans and media.

Therefore, many people felt that this game would not be like the first leg, where Arsenal would directly collapse.

Arsenal, who were fighting for the top four with full fighting spirit and great confidence, would cause no small trouble for Manchester City at the Etihad.

The most important thing was to look at Arsenal's ability to seize opportunities. Their defense against Zhao Gang in the League Cup was very good. As long as they could seize the opportunity, the possibility of drawing or even defeating Manchester City would be very high!

The views in England were very different from those in Dragon Country.

Dragon Country's fans were now unanimously supporting Manchester City and Zhao Gang.

"What are Arsenal going to use to play? They conceded five goals at home, can they even struggle away from home??"

"Manchester City played with ten men for sixty minutes in the League Cup, and Arsenal still didn't win. In extra time, they conceded two goals cleanly while having one more player. With this, they still dare to try and get one over on Manchester City?"

"Wenger is indeed very important to Arsenal and has brought many good memories to Arsenal, but now Arsenal really has to make changes. The current Arsenal cannot beat Manchester City."

"Yes, Manchester United and Liverpool have both changed coaches. Although they are still not very good, their mental outlook is already different. Arsenal also has to actively seek change!"

"Arsenal, wait to be beaten down! The blue flash will surely illuminate the entire Manchester sky!"

"After playing Arsenal, the blue flash will transform into a red lightning bolt and beat the little Koreans until their parents don't recognize them!!"

"Great, after playing Arsenal, Zhao Gang will come back, home game against the Koreans, away game against Iran! I'm quitting my job to watch the games!!"

Outside the Etihad Stadium, there was already a sea of people.

This game was also considered important for Manchester City.

If they continued to win, they could win the Premier League title in as few as four more games. This way, they would be able to handle the Champions League and FA Cup with peace of mind.

They wouldn't need to pay too much attention to the league.

For Arsenal, it was even more important. Not only did they want revenge and to prove themselves, but they also wanted to fight for the top four.

The competition for the top four in the Premier League this season was unusually fierce.

To put it more directly, the fight for fourth place in the Premier League was very intense.

Manchester City, Leicester City, and Chelsea had almost locked in the top three.

The Champions League qualification for fourth place next season was much more heated than the title race.

Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Tottenham had very small gaps, and a single slip-up could cause them to fall behind.

Leicester City's sudden rise, the growth of Tottenham's young players, and Manchester United's gradually stabilized dressing room all made Arsenal feel a sense of crisis and great pressure.

Therefore, Arsenal would definitely show the same fighting spirit in this game as they did in the League Cup.

Dragon Country's Premier League broadcasting rights had been bought out, so CCTV could not broadcast it live.

This caused fans to curse overwhelmingly. A large number of fans simply didn't know how to cast the screen, or didn't have the conditions to cast the screen, and could only watch the live broadcast on a small mobile phone or in front of a computer.

The screen was too small, and there was no atmosphere for watching the game.

Fortunately, the emerging sports broadcast was not charged, otherwise it would definitely be flooded by fans.

Even so, there were still a large number of fans cursing the emerging sports, because this sneaky company closed the Blu-ray ultra-high-definition channel, and the maximum clarity was only high-definition.

If you wanted to enjoy the ultimate viewing experience, you had to pay for a membership.

Many fans cursed and grumbled. They usually didn't want to pay for any membership, but this time they gritted their teeth and opened a membership.

"Damn... I opened a membership and can only watch in HD??"

"Are you kidding me!! Want to watch Blu-ray? You have to open an exclusive membership?? The internet has been played to the fullest by you guys!!"

"Can I pre-order on demand, open a plus membership and let me see the results directly? I have money!"

"Stupid emerging sports, you won't survive this year!!!"

"Damn!! None of these things are good! Aren't you afraid of dying out?"

"Does my Brother Zhao know that you are making this kind of black-hearted money?"

"Little Zhao, little Zhao, you have to score more goals, otherwise, how can you be worthy of the fifty yuan I spent!"

"Zhao Gang's parents have to pay to watch their son in HD, isn't that hilarious?"

Zhan Lu and Zhang Jun, who were already prepared, looked at the cursing barrage and tried to control their emotions. Some of the barrages were very interesting, making people unable to help but smile.

"This game seems even more important for Arsenal, because they are currently in fifth place, two points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, and only one point ahead of Tottenham behind them. If they lose this game, they are likely to fall to sixth place and get further and further away from the top four.

And they lost to Manchester City in the previous League Cup final. In this game, their fighting spirit is extremely high, and they must be confident because of the previous League Cup final!

It may be a little difficult for Manchester City to easily win this game."

"Yes, yes, that's how it is. Arsenal has never been a weak team, and in the League Cup final, Wenger's change of formation had a great defensive effect, which also gave Monaco a way to defend against Zhao Gang, causing Manchester City to almost be eliminated in the Champions League.

In this game, Wenger's defense against Zhao Gang will be a very big highlight."

"Yes, I believe that 80% or even more of the fans watching the game are because of Zhao Gang.

Previously, Guardiola and Manchester City fans clearly stated that the core of Manchester City is Zhao Gang, and a large number of Manchester City tactics are based on Zhao Gang.

This is of course due to his own very strong personal ability and game reading ability.

Naturally, he also won Guardiola's absolute trust.

In the previous games, we could see that Zhao Gang could help Manchester City win the game in various ways.

When he goes all out, he is an all-around warrior on the field.

In fact, we hope that Zhao Gang can run less and maintain his state in the high-intensity league competition.

This is a small selfish wish, because he also has to lead Dragon Country's football to create another miracle."

"Hehehe..."

"Hahaha... Okay, let's take a look at the starting lineups of both sides.

Aguero, who came off the bench in the last game, has completely recovered from his injury and will start directly in this game. Behind him are Sane, De Bruyne, Zhao Gang, and Sterling. David Silva is also on the bench and is likely to play in this game.

This is very good news for Manchester City. Aguero and Silva have all recovered from their injuries.

Single defensive midfielder Fernandinho, Guardiola is no longer planning to play a pseudo-double defensive midfielder, and directly let Zhao Gang play in front.

On the defense line, Kompany partners with Stones as the center backs, and Otamendi plays as the left back, which is a big change.

Otamendi can indeed play as a full-back. It may be that Kolarov's performance made Guardiola a little distrustful. He wanted to test a new formation in the league in the face of the upcoming Champions League knockout stage.

The right back is still Kyle Walker, and the goalkeeper is Bravo!

Let's look forward to Arsenal's revenge battle!"