Lucas Moura says Tottenham's visit to Manchester City will be tougher after Champions League win
Watch Man City vs Tottenham live on Sky Sports Premier League on Saturday from 11.30am; Kick-off at 12:30pm
Saturday 20 April 2019 12:32, UK
Lucas Moura says Tottenham's return to Manchester City on Saturday will be even tougher, with the hosts "angered" by their Champions League exit.
Spurs visit the Etihad for the second time in four days in the lunchtime kick-off, live on Sky Sports, as they turn their attention back to domestic matters and the race for the top four.
City have even bigger issues, knowing anything but a victory could jeopardise their hopes for The Run In - and hand the initiative to Liverpool in the title race.
Having already dashed City's quadruple hopes with an away goals victory in the Champions League on Wednesday, Moura told Sky Sports he expects Spurs to face a team smarting from that defeat and even tougher for it.
He said: "We need to go there and try to win because we need the points. We need to go there and do a good job to bring us three points, that's our objective.
Trending
- Papers: Gravenberch set to stay at Liverpool amid Real Madrid links
- Man Utd latest: Rashford has not travelled for Carabao Cup tie - reports
- Nunez and Elliott strike as Liverpool battle past Southampton
- Gabriel Jesus is back! Hat-trick for Arsenal striker sinks Palace
- Transfer Centre LIVE! 'Saudi could offer Rashford way out of Man Utd'
- Football news: Mbappe scores as Real Madrid win Intercontinental Cup
- Perez leaves Red Bull seat as 2025 exit confirmed
- 'Pain, hurt and damage' - Fury issues menacing warning to Usyk
- Vasseur: Convincing Hamilton to join Ferrari not difficult at all
- Arsenal 3-2 Crystal Palace free match highlights
"It will be so hard, harder than on Wednesday for sure because that's happened, it's in the past, and they will be angry. It will be another big game, let's go there and do our best.
"We played against one of the favourites for the Champions League on Wednesday, but I always believed in my team-mates, myself and on the pitch it's 11 vs 11 - we need to trust ourselves, do our best and be strong mentally, that's what we did and it's why we won."
Moura and his team-mates did not arrive back in London until 2am on Thursday morning following their historic win several hours earlier, and sleep has been in short supply for the Brazilian forward since then.
But he told Sky Sports there is no chance of tired Tottenham legs at the Etihad in the third meeting between these two sides in less than two weeks, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United right on third-place Spurs' tails in one of the closest races for the top four in recent memory.
He told Sky Sports: "It was impossible to sleep! Sometimes I think I'm dreaming, it's difficult to believe in this moment. You need to enjoy the time and start to think about Ajax, prepare about the next game - it will be so hard, but enjoy it, this moment too because it's not easy to get to the semi-finals.
"We celebrated in the changing room, with a crazy party, and on the bus to the airport and on the plane. We got back to London about 2am. It was impossible to sleep, I think I got about four hours, but that's football. Football gives you that feeling, that moment, only to say thank you to god because it's a great gift.
"To win a game like City, to go through to the semi-finals gives us a lot of confidence, it increases that even more and it's good for us. But we're not finished this season - it's so hard, we're in the semi-finals but we need to stay in the top four too. We cannot relax, we need to keep working hard and get points because we cannot drop more."
Catch Man City vs Tottenham live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 11.30am on Saturday - kick-off is at 12.30pm.