With the chance of getting payback from last year, Manchester City will host Barcelona in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League matchup. The Citizens were eliminated by Los Blaugranas from the European tournament in similar circumstances, and for now, Manuel Pellegrini's men will try to beat the team coached by Luis Enrique, who just lost an eleven game winning streak last Saturday against Malaga.
Manchester City arrive to this match in high spirits after destroying Newcastle 5-0. With the sole absence of Yaya Touré, Manuel Pellegrini's crew will try to make it three wins in a row in the European tournament, since they had to win their last matches against Bayern and Roma to make it to the knockout stage. Sergio Aguero's performance in the match will be key, aided by the talents of David Silva and Samir Nasri, who is confident the team can get a much more different outcome than last year.
"For us it was first time we went through the Group Stages, I think it was too much of a big game for us. I think this year is different. We know what we are capable of. We are not going to be scared," Nasri stated.
On the other side, Barcelona must try to bounce back from their painful home loss against Malaga. Luis Enrique's side could have stripped Real Madrid from their No. 1 spot in La Liga, but failed once again after losing 1-0 with an appalling mistake by Dani Alves. With Lionel Messi struggling to play his best in England, Luis Enrique will need Neymar and Luis Suarez to play their best in order to achieve some sort of advantage for the second leg of the series.
"They are a team that can fight for the ball with us, they have players that can put a lot of pressure. It will be an interesting match for both of us, since they are contending to win the most important trophies this season, just like we are. We have to be aware of everyone they start, they possess enough quality to damage us if we don't pay attention to them," the coach from Asturias told the press.
Barcelona won last year's battle with a 4-1 aggregate. During the first leg, Los Blaugranas were awarded a controversial penalty transformed by Lionel Messi, and added one more goal courtesy of Dani Alves. The second leg saw Messi and Alves score once again, while Vincent Kompany saved a little honor for the visitors.
Manchester City vs Barcelona team sheets
Man City's XI: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany (C), Demichelis, Clichy, Fernando, Milner, Nasri, Silva, Dzeko, Aguero.
Barcelona's XI: Ter Stegen, Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, J.Alba, Busquets, Rakitić, Iniesta, Suárez, Neymar, Messi.
Man City's bench: Caballero, Sagna, Mangala, Fernandinho, Lampard, Navas, Bony.
Barcelona's bench: Bravo, Xavi, Pedro, Rafinha, Sergi Roberto, Adriano & Mathieu.
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