BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester City will be keen to steer clear of Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

The Citizens joined the Reds in the next round after sealing a 5-0 aggregate win over Sporting Lisbon last night and, when asked about who the Premier League champions could be drawn against, Ferdinand replied:

“Liverpool would be the last team that Manchester City would want in the draw.”

Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have also qualified for the last eight, while the likes of Villarreal, Juventus, Benfica, Ajax, Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, Lille and Chelsea have yet to play their second legs.

In terms of the bookies, City still remain slight favourites for the Champions League ahead of Liverpool, which is probably fair in terms of two teams’ respective form, but Jurgen Klopp side’s record in Europe is formidable.

The only time that Liverpool and City have met in the Champions League previously was in 2018 when the Reds came out 5-1 aggregate winners in the quarter-finals.