Games in the Champions League are ones to treasure, but none quite match what is possibly the tie of the round between Manchester City and Barcelona. The two met at the same stage of the competition last season, with the Catalan side winning 4-1 on aggregate. But, will it be as straightforward this time?
So far, 2015 has been an almost perfect year for Barcelona, though two 1-0 defeats have been their downfall. After defeat to David Moyes’ Real Sociedad at the start of January, Luis Enrique’s side woke up, and soon began to obliterate every team they faced. The front three of Messi, Neymar and Suarez became impossible for the opposition to handle, as they ripped apart the likes of Elche, Levante and Athletic Bilbao, scoring at least five goals against each side.
This season’s Champions League has also been good showing for Barça. Despite losing to PSG in gameweek two, Enrique’s men won all of their other five games to qualify top of the group. The obvious star man throughout the group stage and the season is general has been Lionel Messi. Despite losing out in the Balon D’Or for a second consecutive season, the little Argentine has not let that cross his mind, as his eight goals helped Barcelona progress, while he has also managed another 26 in the league. Messi does not only have goalscoring ability, as most know, and possesses a number of quality talents, one of which is creativity both on and off the ball. Although he has already scored 37 goals for himself this season, he has set up another 18 for team-mates, which also puts him top of the assists leaderboard for the season.
One player that Manchester City should be wary of is Neymar Jr. After countless critics in his first season at the club, the 23-year old has been something of a revelation for Barça this season. After missing the opening two La Liga matches, Neymar came back with a bang, scoring two against Athletic Bilbao. Since then, he has gone on to score another 22 goals in all competitions this season, including a hat-trick against Granada.
While their front three mostly makes up for it, one area where Barcelona struggle is in defence. Despite conceding just 14 league goals all season, which saw a record broken for Claudio Bravo, the team tend to look fairly shaky across the back line. Statistics would suggest that there is little problem with the back four, however, a number of mistakes and lapses of concentration have cost Barça points this season, most recently in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Malaga.
Manchester City have not been at their best at home this season, which may be something that Luis Enrique will look to exploit. However, they will be wary of the threat that City can pose, and, having come off the back of a home defeat, the visitors will need to be at their absolute best to topple the Citizens. The threats that Manchester City pose are clear to see, with Yaya Toure pulling all the strings in midfield. Like last year, Barcelona are favourites to go through, but will it be as easy this season?
