MONACO -- Pep Guardiola says Manchester City will "kill" their Champions League chances if they try to play defensively in Monaco.
The Ligue 1 leaders are the top scorers in Europe's top five divisions with 123 goals in all competitions this season and the City manager is expecting another high-scoring game.
His side hold a two-goal advantage following their thrilling 5-3 victory in the first leg three weeks ago, but Guardiola says the only way to beat teams such as Monaco is to outscore them.
"When one team scores [123] goals, it means they can score in many, many, many ways, so the best way [to beat them] is to score goals," he told a news conference. "Take the ball and attack as much as possible is the only way I know to beat this type of team.
"If one team scores [123] goals and you are thinking about only defending for 90 minutes because we won one game 5-3, you kill yourself.
"Maybe it will happen because we won't be able to attack or won't be able to control their fantastic attack. That can happen but the idea is to try our way to play.
"We scored five goals and that is not easy -- they concede few chances. I saw the game against Bordeaux [a 2-1 win on Saturday] which was one or two chances. So you have to go to score goals and that is what I want to see from my team tomorrow."
Guardiola said his side would need to score in Monaco immediately after the first game at the Etihad and the Catalan has not changed his opinion after watching Monaco score 10 goals in their four matches since to open a three-point lead at the top of the French league.
He admits it will be hard for his players to attack knowing they have a safety margin, but he insists they must play as if they need to win on the night.
"It will be a huge mistake for our side to think about what we've done and forget what we have to do," he added. "They know us better, we know them better and my impression about them is the same, they're a top top team, the best team in the world at scoring goals.
"I want to see a team from the first minute that wants to win the game. At the [Champions League] level, everyone can beat you and you can beat them but I want to see my team with the feeling that it wants to win the game.
"If the opponent is much better than us, they are much better than us but not because we are reserved or speculate. I don't like my teams to speculate. Sometimes maybe it was a mistake [not to] but I want them to be encouraged to play the game and try to score goals."
Meanwhile, Bacary Sagna has said he is ready for the challenge his team will face from free-scoring Monaco as they attempt to reach the quarterfinals.
Despite conceding three goals at home in the first leg, City have tightened up defensively recently and haven't conceded a goal away from home in any competition since Jan. 15 -- a run stretching over six games.
Another clean sheet would guarantee City's progress to the last eight and Sagna sees it as a challenge to try to keep out the Ligue 1 leaders at bay.
"It will be a target," the French international told a news conference. "As a defender it's never pleasant to concede goals.
"I was upset after the first leg because we conceded three goals. We reacted well as a team, everyone is communicating a bit more and we have kept six clean sheets [away].
"[Wednesday] will be another game where we want to keep a clean sheet. I like a challenge."
It was both teams' exciting young forwards, who took the headlines in the first game with City's Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane's scoring and assisting a goal. Monaco 18-year-old Kylian Mbappe also scored while Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar impressed.
Sagna expects them to have an impact again in the second leg at the Stade Louis II and says it's an exciting future both as a City and a France player.
"I play alongside Raheem Sterling every day, I play alongside Leroy Sane every day and I see the way they are progressing," he said.
"I see the impact they have on the team and how important they are for the team. They have great potential.
"I am French myself and I follow French football and I see Monaco playing every weekend and I see the potential they have. They are just like confident players and they play with freedom. I think it's just amazing."