The most anticipated fixture over the two weeks will see Manchester City face Barcelona for the second year in a row tonight at the Etihad. Man City will be hoping to get revenge from last year to reach their first ever quarter-final in the competition whilst Barcelona will be looking to set a Champions League record of 8 Quarter Finals in a row.
Preview: Manchester City v Barcelona
Coming in to the game, City have hit the right form at exactly the right time. Their five star performance against Newcastle will no doubt give them confidence going in to the game; David Silva and Sergio Agüero putting in their best displays in a long time. Barcelona, however, suffered a shock defeat at home to Malaga which ended their very impressive 11 game win run. Coach Enrique says that this result was an ‘accident’ and will hope that his team will recover in the crucial tie.
Not many more key battles will take place around the pitch than that of Lionel Messi’s and Vincent Kompany’s one. Since Ronaldo picked up the Ballon D’or in January the Argentine has been in scary form; scoring 15 goals and assisting 11 times in just 14 games. Telling the media that 2014 was a difficult year on and off the pitch, Messi has started 2015 as brilliant as ever and will be a massive task for the City captain. Kompany, though, has come under some fire recently and will have to be on top form if he is to handle the Argentine at his best.
Predicted line ups:
Man City XI: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Mangala, Clichy, Nasri , Fernandinho, Fernando, Silva, Navas, Agüero
Barcelona XI: ter Stegen, Alba, Piqué, Mascherano, Alves, Busquets, Mascherano, Iniesta, Neymar, Messi, Suárez
Barcelona have no new injury worries or suspensions heading in to the game with just Thomas Vermalaen, who is still yet to play for the club since his summer move, side-lined. City, however, will have to deal with a huge blow as they face the Spanish giants without Yaya Toure, who is suspended due to the two bookings he picked up at home to CSKA Moscow in early November. James Milner will also miss the match through injury which should mean that Jesus Navas gets on the team sheet, a player who hasn’t really made a name for himself at the club.
The fixture will also see Luis Suárez return to England for the first time since he left for Barcelona from Liverpool. Without making as much of an impact as expected in the La Liga, Suárez has been hailed for his performances in the Champions League having scored 2 goals in 3 appearances. The last time Suárez faced Man City, his ex-Liverpool side won a thrilling 3-2 game at Anfield and he will be relishing the chance to get payback for the side who stopped him almost single-handedly winning the Premier League last season.
Both sides sit second in their domestic league and will more than fancy their chances against each other. If Man City are to progress, they’ll have to get at least a draw from this home tie and with their current form they should feel they can do this. But shutting out a Barcelona team- although failing to score at the weekend- should prove too difficult of a task and their fire power should be enough to see them past the reigning English champions.
Prediction: Man City 1-2 Barcelona
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