Manchester City take a 5-3 lead to Monaco this evening (7.45pm kick-off) as they look to seal a place alongside Premier League champions Leicester City in the last eight of the Champions League.

The Foxes impressively knocked La Liga title contenders Sevilla out of the competition on Tuesday after winning 2-0 at the King Power Stadium, and Pep Guardiola’s City will look to join them by getting the job done at the Stade Louis II this evening.

A brace from Sergio Aguero as well as goals from Raheem Sterling, John Stones, and Leroy Sane has given the Citizens a two-goal cushion going into tonight’s return leg, but they’ll be wary of a side that have scored 84 goals in Ligue 1 this term, 52 of which have come at home.

And in Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappe, Monaco have the players to seriously hurt City, and given that they netted three times at the Etihad Stadium three weeks ago, and could easily have had more, Leonardo Jardim’s men will know that they are certainly not out of this tie yet.

Nonetheless, Guardiola and his side should be confident of getting the result needed this evening to progress, and here are THREE reasons why they will do just that…

They’re in great form

Since the turn of the year, Manchester City have played 14 times in all competitions, and only suffered defeat once.

Granted, that was a 4-0 hammering away at Everton in the Premier League in January, but since then Guardiola’s men have significantly improved, and are currently embarking on an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

Eight of those 11 have been victories, including the 5-3 success over tonight’s opponents at the Etihad Stadium, and it’s a run which has seen them reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, and consolidate their position inside the Premier League’s top four.

Guardiola admitted a few weeks ago that his side were playing better now than at the start of the campaign, when they won ten on the spin, and that will stand them in good stead in Monaco this evening as they look to seal a place in the last eight.

They’re scoring goals for fun

It was a quite extraordinary first leg between the two sides at the Etihad Stadium, and for the most part, City looked like they’d be behind going into this evening’s return clash.

However, their three goals in the last 19 minutes has not only given them a two-goal cushion, but it will strike fear into the Monaco side as City demonstrated their unbelievable attacking credentials both on that night, and in subsequent weeks.

Striker Sergio Aguero has scored six goals in his last five games, Leroy Sane is beginning to look like the player many saw at Schalke last term, and Raheem Sterling has scored once and laid on four assists in his last four matches.

There are sure to be goals this evening at the Stade Louis II, and that can only benefit City as they are already two goals to the good.

Healthy cushion

City lead 5-3 going into tonight’s encounter at the Stade Louis II, and that is a healthy cushion from a game that could easily have got away from them.

Monaco led 2-1 and 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium, with Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappe hugely impressive, and were it not for a Willy Caballero penalty save moments into the second period, City would’ve gone 3-1 down, and things could have turned out very differently.

As it happens, City were sensational in the last twenty minutes to get back into the game and then take it away from Monaco, and with the attacking force City have, the healthy two-goal cushion looks set to be vital in deciding who progresses to the last eight.