Manchester City vs Barcelona: UCL Match Preview

Barcelona return to UEFA Champions League action on Tuesday night as they look to make it four wins from four in their 2016/2017 CL campaign when they take on England giants Manchester City at the Etihad.

A hat-trick from talisman Lionel Messi and a late goal from Neymar ensured Barcelona got a comfortable 4-0 win over Pep Guardiola’s men at Camp Nou in a game that saw Claudio Bravo pick up a red card for handling the ball outside the area. The former Barça goalkeeper will miss the game through suspension and Willy Caballero is set to deputise in his place.

Manchester City are yet to pick up even a draw against Barça, trying five previous times and losing all five. They are a far better team under new coach Pep Guardiola, top of the English league and their performance in the first leg was great.. they have a chance to upset Barça in England.

TEAM NEWS


As said previously, Manchester City are presented with their best opportunity to hurt Barça as the Catalans will be without 5 first team players for the game. Captain Andrés Iniesta picked up an injury against Valencia that will keep him out for two months. He won’t take part in the game and will miss the other group games left.

Iniesta is joined by talismanic defender Gérard Piqué who is still recovering from an injury sustained in the first leg after a tackle from Silva. Jordi Alba is also out injured which means Lucas Digne will take his place while Aleix Vidal and Jérémy Mathieu are sidelined. Luis Enrique already named a 20-man squad for the game against City and it features three Barça B players in Carlés Aleña, Marlon and Nili, all unlikely to feature.

For the hosts, Claudio Bravo is ruled out through suspension while Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna, two right-back options, are struggling with injuries. Captain Vincent Kompany is set to start in defence after missing the first leg and was rested for the game against West Brom.

MANCHESTER CITY VS BARCELONA

Date: Tuesday, 1 November, 2016
Time: 8:45pm CET
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England
Referee: Viktor Kassai

PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Barcelona 4-0 Manchester City
Barcelona 1-0 Manchester City
Manchester City 1-2 Barcelona
Barcelona 2-1 Manchester City
Manchester City 0-2 Barcelona

FORM GUIDE
Manchester City: LDLDLW
Barcelona: WLWWWW

Predicted Manchester City Lineup: Willy Caballero; Fernando, Nicolás Otamendi, John Stones, Kolarov; Ilkay Gündogan, Fernandinho; Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Nolito; Sérgio Agüero

Predicted Barcelona Lineup: Marc Andre Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Javier Mascherano, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Digne; Iván Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, André Gomes; Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Neymar

BarcaLens Prediction: It will be a really tough game for Barcelona.. Pep Guardiola and his men would have gone extra miles to win the tactical battle and Barça will miss Iniesta and Piqué, but once again, it’s very likely MSN will be the difference just like in the first leg – Manchester City 1-3 Barcelona