Football, like life itself, is full of changes. The matchup between Barcelona and Manchester City will be filled with all kinds of curiosities, and while some of them will go down in history as anecdotes, others could very well change the course of the game between these two UEFA Champions League title contenders.
Small details such as two key signings Manchester City lured away from Los Blaugranas, some changes in Barça's lineup, and the arrival of Pep Guardiola and a ton of players to the Sky Blues are among the facts that could change the course of history between Los Culés and the Citizens.
1. Those who snubbed Barcelona to join Manchester City
One of the highly-publicized transfers of this summer had Claudio Bravo as the protagonist. As he demanded UCL game time, Manchester City offered him the chance to play in the most important club competition in the world. The two-time Copa América winner with Chile decided to leave Los Blaugranas, even after being offered a substancial wage increase, while forcing Joe Hart's exit from the Sky Blues. The to work with Pep Guardiola seduced Bravo, and even though he competed against Marc-André Ter Stegen for the No. 1 spot with the Catalunyan team, he sent a supportive message after a couple of rough weeks.
But yet another former Blaugrana footballer decided to snub Luis Enrique's crew to join Pep & Co.: Nolito. The homegrown playmaker was a transfer target for more than a year, but his former club, Celta, decided not to provide talent to one of their La Liga opponents and sold him to the Sky Blues afer receiving an offer the player couldn't ignore.
2. The ones who left both clubs
Pep's revolution at Manchester City could leave up to nine players from their last meeting away from the pitch for several reasons. Man City's lineup back in March 2015 included Joe Hart, Martin Demichelis, James Milner and Samir Nasri. All of them are gone. Furthermore, Bacary Sagna & Vincent Kompany are still struggling with fitness issues, leaving Fernandinho, Aleksandr Kolarov, David Silva & Sergio Agüero as the only surviving members from that 1-0 defeat. Yaya Toure's case is special, since he is part of the squad, but he wasn't registered to play in the continental tournament.
As for Barcelona, Luis Enrique's main doubts are fueled by injury concerns and his rotation policy. The team's most talented players, including Messi, Suárez & Neymar are all fit to start, while Javier Mascherano, Andrés Iniesta, Jeremy Mathieu & Jordi Alba could watch the beginning of the game from the bench due to fitness concerns(Alba) or due to their shaky performances (Mascherano & Mathieu). The only player that is no longer a member of Barcelona's squad is Dani Alves, who decided to leave to join Juventus this summer.
3. A different kind of "P" inside The Citizens' dugout
Former boss Manuel Pellegrini was never regarded as a fan-favorite. His somewhat defensive tactics and his failure to deliver big trophies for the Sky Blues other than the EPL forced Man City's execs to search for other options.
Pep Guardiola had been approached by Txiki Begiristain prior to the beginning of the 2015-2016 season, but the Catalan boss wanted to lead Bayern to the European title. Guardiola's choice of revealing where he was coaching this season was seen as a betrayal, since he still had three months left in his contract and some thought that distracted him from his main goal. Yes, he eventually won the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal titles, but since he left Barcelona, he hasn't been able to lift the UCL title. Will he manage to do so with a multi-talented Manchester City team?
"El Ingeniero" is still looking for a job after being sacked by the Sky Blues. Only time will tell if Pep can lead the Citizens to their first-ever UCL title.
Players have left, new challenges are lying ahead for both coaches. The first battle is set to take place at Camp Nou. Care to find out who will take all the points home? Don't miss this crucial Group C match!
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