Pep Guardiola says Manchester City will face “11 players, not the history” of Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg.
The teams will meet at the Allianz Arena with City holding a three-goal advantage from the first leg.
But Guardiola said Bayern, who have won the trophy six times, will still be a threat on home soil.
“We don’t play against what they achieved, but having something like that is something special,” he said.
City have yet to win the Champions League, having lost the 2021 final to Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea and were beaten in last season’s semi-finals by an incredible Real Madrid comeback.
“It’s nice to travel around and play these types of opponents, it’s nice to be here and try to make an incredible achievement and reach the semi-final again,” added Guardiola.
The Spaniard, who managed Bayern for three years before taking charge of City in 2016 and leading them to four Premier League titles, wants his side to further “punish” Bayern after their outstanding first-leg performance in Manchester.
“We must focus on what we have to do to control the game, punish them, come here to win the game in Munich against one of the most historic teams in the competition,” he said.
“I’ve been here in Bayern and I know the mentality of the club. It’s in the skin of everyone and I know they believe they can do it.
“We believe [we can do it] too. When you are in these types of clubs, where you build the feeling that whatever happens you can do it. They have history in the competition and we are growing in that.
“After many years, winning Premier Leagues and getting to finals and semi-finals we are reaching a level that is quite interesting for us. I don’t have any doubts the players want it, the desire, they want it of course.
“We don’t have to defend the game – we can play. We can be here to play one football game, 11 men against 11 men, try to do better than the opponent in this specific game. We have to do our game.”
City are boosted by the return of midfielder Phil Foden after he returned to training with the squad on Tuesday, having been sidelined since having his appendix removed last month.
Tuchel says Bayern ‘need a miracle’
Bayern boss Tuchel admits his side face a mammoth task to overcome City.
“It will be a miracle if we pull it off, but we can’t just talk a miracle into existence,” he said.
“Playing against Manchester City is a massive challenge, they are in great form recently. It’s in our own hands, we need to give it everything.
“We’re not alone, we have a good team and we have the fans. We have to go step by step.
“We need the momentum and those little moments to go our way – it won’t come off otherwise. We have to get the balance right. We know the size of the task that awaits us and just how difficult it will be.”
Tuchel’s side drew 1-1 against Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday, meaning the former Chelsea boss has only won two of his first five games in charge.
However, Bayern could be boosted by the return of top scorer Eric Choupo-Moting after a knee injury. Former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane will also be available after being suspended for reportedly punching team-mate Leroy Sane following the 3-0 loss at City.
“We believe in ourselves and know we can win both halves,” added Tuchel. “If we do that, anything can happen, especially if we get a bit of luck which we didn’t have in the first leg. We will take things one half at a time.”
