The match between Guardiola and Tuchel

"Tuchel and Guardiola once discussed tactics at a restaurant in Munich, using salt and pepper equipment to illustrate the players according to the image. So it is not an exaggeration to say that ahead is a great show. tactical battle", the Bundesliga homepage commented.

The two coaches have faced each other 10 times, with Guardiola overpowering his colleagues when they both worked in Germany. The two first met in the 2013-2014 season. At that time, Guardiola's Bayern beat Tuchel's Mainz 4-1, thanks to Arjen Robben, Mario Mandzukic and a double from Thomas Muller. The same scenario took place in the second leg, when "Gray Lobster" won easily 2-0. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gotze brought three points for Bayern. Guardiola's army then won the Bundesliga with 90 points, 18 points behind the team behind Dortmund.

Tuchel, after helping Mainz finish in seventh place, left the club he had five years at. This coach took a year off, then accepted to lead Dortmund from the 2015-2016 season. Tuchel's first "German Football Classic" match was an unforgettable memory, when Dortmund lost badly to Bayern 1-5. He broke the losing streak against Guardiola, with Dortmund holding Bayern 0-0 in the second leg. However, Tuchel could not help Dortmund topple Bayern in the Bundesliga.

The fifth matchup took place in the 2016 German Cup final. Bayern lifted the trophy with a 4-3 penalty shootout, after the two teams drew goalless in regular time. This was the last time the two coaches faced off in Germany, as Guardiola took over at Man City shortly after. Thus, Guardiola is unbeaten in all five matches of Tuchel's mind in Germany.

Since their last clash in January 2022, the two have had time to hone, tweak and tinker with tactical formulas. In it, Guardiola was criticized by fans and experts for "thinking and changing too much" about his approach to important matches. As a result, the Spanish coach could not help Man City claim to be king in the Champions League.

But Guardiola still helps the host club dominate in other leagues. In addition to winning the Champions League twice with Barca, he has won the FIFA Club World Cup three times, 10 national championships - including four Premier League, three Bundesliga, three La Liga - and 17 other titles.

Guardiola is also a tactical pioneer and has led many trends in modern football over the past 10 years. Tiki-taka is perhaps the most famous style, but another style of play was unleashed by Guardiola and is being adopted in Tuchel's own Bayern. Joao Cancelo - Man City defender who plays for Bayern on loan - is nominally a full-back, but often sticks to the center to develop the ball, as in the second half of the German Cup quarter-final against Freiburg.

This style originated with Guardiola, and he still uses this strategy. In the last three matches, respectively against RB Leipzig, Burnley, Liverpool, before playing Southampton over the weekend, Man City played with a defense of three plus a fourth defender - John Stones or Rico Lewis - active in central midfielder position. When necessary, they can drop back to form a four-man defense, while increasing the defense for the attacking midfield and the center forward.

This 3-2-4-1 system helped the army under Guardiola completely overwhelm the field, forcing opposing defenders to leave their positions and reveal space. Even before Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, Man City had 68% of possession time, finished 17 times and won jubilantly 4-1 in the great battle in the Premier League on April 1.

When playing Dortmund, Leroy Sane played wide on the right, but often drifted into the middle to support Leon Goretzka. But when he met Freiburg, Sane was positioned wide on the left flank, and Thomas Muller dropped deep into the middle. The German striker played wide on the right wing against Dortmund, while Kingsley Coman took that position against Freiburg.

This change did not work. Freiburg manager Christian Streich's plan, even announced by him before the game, neutralized the threat from Bayern. "We played with a 4-4-2 with two strikers trying to get close to Kimmich," said Freiburg's coach.

Tuchel responded to his colleague by moving Cancelo to play in central midfield - a position he played under Guardiola - to share the task of distributing the ball with Kimmich. The Portuguese found plenty of space and Bayern's defeat was in large part due to Freiburg's disciplined defence.

At Etihad today, Man City is forecast to have a different approach - control the ball, attack more. But Tuchel has proven he can fight Guardiola's mighty club. In the Champions League final in 2021, the German coach let Chelsea play with a 5-2-3 formation, making Man City unable to find any space. Tuchel can rewrite "old order" today.

City's five-man attack can be controlled with five in defence, but when in possession, Bayern can revert to a familiar pattern with Cancelo moving up into central midfield from right-back and Alphonso Davies attack on the left flank. But Cancelo can also stick to the familiar side for Bayern to have a more stable defense.

Both coaches are known for drawing up game-specific plans and constantly tweaking them. In the Champions League final in 2021, Guardiola arranged Ilkay Gundogan - his forte in public midfield - back to the low kick to press the midfield, like a "virtual number 6" when Man City controlled the ball. This tactic was then likened to an act of self-destruction, the team losing the title. Meanwhile, Tuchel chose to play deep, waiting for the opponent to make mistakes and punish him with Kai Havertz's goal.

In the last two times against Chelsea in the English Premier League season 2021-2022, Guardiola always used a 4-3-3 system. In both games, Cancelo played at left-back and rarely ventured into the middle. This seems to be the clear tactical instruction from Guardiola to decipher Tuchel.

The outcome of this season's Champions League quarter-finals may depend on which club has the better defence. In Tuchel's three consecutive victories over Guardiola, there is a noticeable similarity: Man City attacked heavily and Tuchel found tactical gaps for the home team to exploit this scheme.

"At home, Man City is expected to hold the ball, impose a style of play but be careful. Tuchel knows how to beat Guardiola, and he will make sure the players know it too," the Bundesliga commented.