John Stones ‘excited’ to test himself against Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in Champions League semi-final

The England international is ‘quietly confident’ that Pep Guardiola’s side can finish the job on Tuesday to advance to the Champions League final

John Stones battles with Kylian Mbappe

(AFP)

Manchester City defender John Stones is “excited” to take on Kylian Mbappe and Neymar during the second leg of the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.

City took a big step towards booking a place in the Istanbul final with a 2-1 victory at the Parc des Princes last week thanks to Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick.

But despite the difficulty of finishing the job and keeping Mauricio Pochettino’s attacking superstars quiet, Stones is relishing the match at the Etihad Stadium.

He said: “It’s never easy whoever we come up against. On the big occasions to come up against two world-class players is exciting as defenders, to test ourselves as defenders.

“But we need to keep the whole team quiet, not just those two.”

While Stones also conceded City are “quietly confident” of completing the job to secure a first ever Champions League final.

“I think (we are) quietly confident, we have to be. It is a big occasion for us as players and as a club, a chance to get into a Champions League final,” the England centre-back added.

“We have got to go into it where we left off. We are really confident and excited for the challenge ahead.

“I don’t even want to think about losing. We go into the game to win it, that’s been our mindset over the past five years, to go into every game to try to win.’’