Barcelona vs. Manchester City: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info
Barcelona host Manchester City in their finely-poised second leg Champions League round-of-16 game.
Manuel Pellegrini's men have a sniff of an upset but no more at this stage, and a hugely surprising loss to Burnley at the weekend isn't the way that the Citizens would've wanted to prepare for their biggest assignment of the season.
Luis Enrique is playing down thoughts of a treble, preferring to concentrate on the excellence that Barca's opponents bring to the party.
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He told reporters at his pre-match press conference, via Jordi Clos of FCBarcelona.com:
"I expect a similar game to the first leg. Last year they also came here after a negative result from the first leg and they caused us a lot of problems.
We’re playing against one of the favourites to win this competition. We’re only 50% through the round and you only have to look at their players to see how much potential they have.
City don’t look tired to me. I think they have every chance of turning this tie around and I’m sure they’ll be clinging onto that hope.
"
Lionel Messi's 90th-minute penalty miss in the first leg is what gives City an outside hope of progressing, and the return of former Barca favourite Yaya Toure to their ranks could tip the midfield balance in their favour.
Date: Wednesday, March 18
Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT/3:45 p.m ET
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
TV Info: Sky Sports 5 (UK only)/Fox Soccer Plus (USA only)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK only)/Fox Soccer 2 Go (USA only)
Form Lines
| Barcelona | Manchester City |
| W 2-0 vs. Eibar | L 0-1 vs Burnley |
| W 6-1 vs. Rayo Vallecano | W 2-0 vs Leicester |
| W 3-1 vs. Villarreal | L 1-2 vs Liverpool |
| W 3-1 vs. Granada | L 1-2 vs Barcelona |
| W 2-1 vs. Manchester City | W 5-0 vs Newcastle |
| L 0-1 vs. Malaga | W 4-1 vs. Stoke |
WhoScored.com
Predicted Formations
Given the success that Luis Enrique had in the first leg, it's highly unlikely he will deviate from a 4-3-3. The only difference could be a slight change of personnel.
The manager confirmed in a Tuesday press conference, per FCBarcelona.com, that Sergio Busquets is definitely missing, which could well hurt the Catalans.
What it does is allows Javier Mascherano to move into the role he plays so well with the Argentinian national side.
Replacing him in the back four is the biggest headache facing Enrique. Does he go for experience with Jeremy Mathieu, or pace and youth in Marc Bartra?
The latter has certainly done enough over the course of the season to be considered and will be a lot quicker off the mark than Mathieu when it comes to dealing with the likes of Sergio Aguero.
Ivan Rakitic should be included after his great showing at the Etihad Stadium, where he played a full part in dismantling the Premier League side.
The rest of the side picks itself, with the welcome returns of Dani Alves and Jordi Alba to the back four providing a supplementary attacking presence and some width.
David Lynch of the Manchester Evening News feels that a five-man midfield is the way to go if the visitors want to progress in the competition.
Samir Nasri will be a welcome return, however, he may not be too keen at shuttling back and forth in the right-hand defensive areas. Something that Neymar could well profit from.
Yaya Toure and James Milner will provide the platform for David Silva to weave his magic again with Aleksander Kolarov making up the quintet.
Edin Dzeko will again partner Aguero and will look to take advantage of Barca's continued inability to defend the high ball. Wilfried Bony is a decent option to have on the bench if Pellegrini feels that things aren't working for his front men.
Eliaquim Mangala is included by virtue of his pace as well as his brawn, alongside Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta, and they will form a fearsome back three.
Player to watch
Barcelona know all about Yaya Toure having sold the Ivorian powerhouse to Manchester City.
Without his fearsome presence in the centre of the midfield, driving forward at will, City are often moribund as a midfield unit.
Not just all about brawn, Toure plays the game with brains and while David Silva can play the pretty stuff, Toure utilises his own passing accuracy with aplomb. Squawka note his 89 percent success rate as being in the top bracket at City. No one trick pony this.
Barca will also need to be wary of his long-range shooting. With City in need of goals, it wouldn't really be a surprise to see them peppering Marc-Andre ter Stegen from all areas of the pitch.
With the visitors flooding the midfield and denying the Catalans space to play in that area, the direct running that is Toure's forte could well be seen throughout this one. Javier Mascherano's role therefore becomes the most important for Barca as he seeks to repel the thrust while simultaneously protecting his back four.
Key Battle
We saw within 30 minutes of the first leg just how sharp Luis Suarez is at present.
Somewhere approaching his best form, the Uruguayan is buzzing at the moment, and Vincent Kompany will have his work cut out to keep Suarez quiet again for the full 90.
Playing off the shoulder of the last defender, Suarez is bound to cause havoc for City's back line, and even if he doesn't get off the mark himself, he's more than capable of delivering for his team-mates.
It's worth noting his movement off the ball too. Look at his second goal against City in the first leg for instance. Despite being surrounded by opposition players, he was still able to find space in which to dispatch the chance.
Kompany needs a big performance after he was criticised by Manuel Pellegrini for his role in the recent defeat to Liverpool.
Richard Jolly of ESPN FC noted Pellegrini's words in a news conference when he said:
"When you play in a big team, or when you manage a big team, you must be prepared to receive all different criticism when you don't win or when you don't put in a normal performance.
They are important players and they must be used to this happening.
"
Since the first leg, Suarez has scored in three of the last four, per WhoScored.com, looking sharp in the process. If he can escape the shackles as easily as he did in the first leg, this tie will be over before half-time.
Odds
The following pre-match odds are available via our betting partner Oddsshark:
Home Win: 100/217
Away Win: 603/100
Draw: 347/100
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