Pochettino vs Guardiola: A Premier League duel

The Champions League will have a new home to welcome as the road to Madrid will stop at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time on Tuesday night, which will see Mauricio Pochettino come up against Pep Guardiola in a battle to reach the semi-finals of Europe's premier competition.

Not only have Pochettino and Guardiola face each other in the Premier League, but they have history from their Espanyol and Barcelona days respectively, first as players and then as coaches.

"We faced each other as footballers and coaches many times in Spain and it was always difficult to play against Barcelona," said Pochettino.

"We're going to be aggressive and try to dominate [City]."

The two have met 14 times as coaches and the record is certainly in Guardiola's favour, having won eight games compared to Pochettino's two. Espanyol secured a memorable 2-1 victory away at the Camp Nou in 2009, with Ivan de la Pena scoring a brace, and the Argentine was able to succumb Guardiola to his first Premier League defeat as Spurs won 2-0 in October 2016. Since then, the Catalan has dominated this match-up against "[Harry] Kane's team," as Guardiola noted.

"It was disrespectful. When he was at Barcelona, I did not refer to them as '[Lionel] Messi's team,'" replied Pochettino.

Guardiola was quick to dampen any potential controversy that could have arisen from his comment.

"I never meant to be disrespectful. I was speaking about his form and I know that Tottenham is not just Kane," responded Guardiola.

"I have spoken many times with Mauricio and I have never wanted to criticise his work. Tottenham are one of the best teams around."

This bickering may have faded but the rivalry will almost certainly return on Tuesday night, with City looking to reach the semi-finals for the first time under Guardiola and the first time since Manuel Pellegrini in 2016, whilst Spurs are in the last eight for just the third time in their history.

Nevertheless, Pochettino was happy to heap praise on the Sky Blues.

"City are building a team to win everything [the Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions League, having already won the Carabao Cup]," confessed Pochettino.

"They are very good and have one of the best coaches on the planet. If a club can achieve the quadruple, it's them."

Guardiola had some praise for the former Espanyol captain, too.

"Mauricio is a top coach. We've faced each other as players and coaches," he stated.

"He's doing a fantastic job [with Spurs] and I enjoy watching his team play."

The Catalan has not hidden his admiration for Kane either.

"He's smart and lethal in the area," said Guardiola.

"He's a modern striker, but Tottenham are more than Kane. They are incredible."

For City, they have their own wonderful striker in Sergio Aguero, and Guardiola is hoping that his star man will be able to play on Tuesday night after picking up a knock.

"He is better and has trained with the group," Guardiola stated.

Aguero, the top scorer in the Premier League with 19 goals, and Kane, on 17, will look to be the players making the difference as Spurs and City get set to face each other three times in eight days - twice in the Champions League and once in the league.

There will be drama on the pitch, as well as on the bench. The three-part episode is ready to start.