Two European powerhouses resume their rivalry on the big stage this coming Tuesday as four-time European champions Barcelona take on English Premier League champions Manchester City in the first leg of their mouth-watering Champions League round of 16 tie.
It will be a rematch of their encounter in the same stage last season wherein Barcelona won 4-1 on aggregate. Can Barcelona duplicate that feat and record their eighth consecutive Champions League quarterfinals appearance? Or will Manchester City spring a surprise and put an end to Barcelona’s record streak?
Read on for a complete preview of this European showdown and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the Champions League second-leg tie between PSG and Chelsea here.
[sc:Soccer ]Barcelona vs. Manchester City Betting Preview
Where: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
When: Tuesday, February 24, 2:45 PM ET
Line: Barcelona (-108) at Manchester City (+235), tie +240; total: 2.5 – view all UEFA Champions League lines
What’s At Stake
[sc:Soccer240banner ]This may just be the first leg of an explosive two-leg tie but expect both teams to go all out for a win this coming Tuesday. Manchester City have never advanced in the Champions League knockout round before so it is crucial for them to grab a positive result in the first leg to instill some confidence in themselves ahead of their trip to the Nou Camp in a couple of weeks’ time.
Barcelona, on the other hand, will definitely go on the attack knowing that they can demoralize Manchester City with a third consecutive victory against them. That was the case last season when they defeated Manchester City 2-0 at the Etihad in the first leg of their round of 16 tie. With their lineup stacked with world-class attacking players, Barcelona will definitely be on the look-out for that all-important away goal.
Betting on Barcelona
Now that was a shock.
Barcelona’s La Liga title bid took a huge hit on Saturday as they suffered a surprising 1-0 loss to seventh-placed Malaga. The defeat snapped Barcelona’s 11-game winning run as they now trail archrivals Real Madrid by four points in the title race.
The Catalan giants will need to recover quickly, though, as lying in wait for them in the next game are defending English champions Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie. For Barcelona to grab a positive result at the Etihad this coming Tuesday, they will need Lionel Messi to reassert himself on the offensive end.
The Argentine was a non-factor in Barcelona’s loss to Malaga as he looked terribly off-pace and frequently gave the ball away. This was a complete surprise considering Messi has been in excellent form as of late. He scored a total of 14 goals during Barcelona’s recent winning streak.
If there’s one tournament that Messi thrives upon, though, it is Europe’s biggest soccer competition. He holds the record for most goals in this tournament, scoring a total of 92 goals in 75 Champions League games. Messi is at it again in this year’s competition, scoring an incredible eight goals in the group stages, second-best in the Champions League this season.
He will be licking his chops at the prospect of facing a Manchester City side that has conceded a total of eight goals in the group stages this season, the second-worst mark among the remaining Champions League participants. Messi has found some success against Manchester City in the past as well, scoring twice against the Citizens in their two-leg affair last season.
It will take more than Messi, though, for Barcelona to bring down Manchester City. They will need Neymar and Luis Suarez to contribute on the offensive end as well. Neymar has scored 24 goals for Barcelona this season while Suarez has struggled in his first season with the club, scoring just seven goals.
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Betting on Manchester City
“We do not fear Barcelona.”
Those were the bullish words of captain Vincent Kompany after Manchester City recorded a 5-0 thrashing over Newcastle in the English Premier League over the weekend. It was Manchester City’s biggest victory of the season and it leaves them in perfect shape heading into their crunch clash with Barcelona in a couple of days’ time.
Buoyed by Chelsea’s surprise draw against Burnley in the earlier kickoff, the Citizens came out firing on all cylinders against Newcastle, scoring three goals in the opening 21 minutes. Sergio Aguero opened the scoring with a second-minute penalty before Samir Nasri, Edin Dzeko and David Silva joined the goal parade for the Citizens.
Aside from Manchester City cutting Chelsea’s lead at the top of the league table to just five points, what gives manager Manuel Pellegrini sheer delight is Aguero’s return to goal-scoring form. After going goalless for almost two months, Aguero is back to his lethal best in front of goal, scoring three goals in City’s last two games.
That is very timely as they will next face their old foes Barcelona. Manchester City was handed a brutal lesson by Barcelona in their Champions League clash last season, losing 2-0 and 2-1 in the first and second legs respectively.
Manchester City will feel aggrieved though with Martin Demichelis’ sending off in the first leg the catalyst for their elimination. The English champions gained valuable experience from that debacle, however, and Pellegrini is confident in his team’s chances to score an upset this time around.
Pellegrini has outlined his intention to attack Barcelona right from the get-go saying they will “try to be aggressive and score goals.” The one who will lead City’s attack is undoubtedly Aguero. He has scored a team-high 22 goals for Manchester City this season, five of which have come in the Champions League. He played an integral part in City’s miraculous escape in the group stages, scoring a hat-trick in their 3-2 win over Bayern Munich last November.
You can talk all you want about Aguero’s heroics, though, but what makes Manchester City tick is their midfield maestro Yaya Toure. He showed his worth against Newcastle last Saturday, making 125 passes out of 134 touches for an incredible 87.2% pass completion rate.
This was Toure’s first game back since winning the African Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast. Manchester City will bank on Toure to control the midfield battle and help the Citizens dictate the tempo of the match.
Writer’s Prediction
Manchester City (+235) edge past Barcelona, 1-0.
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