Manchester City host FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16- 1st leg
Spanish champions FC Barcelona
visit The Eithad to face an in form Manchester City side in a bid to reach the
last eight of the UEFA Champions League. The Catalan side last won the
competition back in 2011 under Pep Guardiola, now manager of Bayern Munich, a
side which beat Barcelona’s opponents of tonight at the same venue.
Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester
City, on the other hand, have a poor record in European competition in recent
seasons, with this fixture being their first appearance in the knock out rounds
after two years of group stage exits.
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| FC Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino will hope his side can shackle free scoring City at The Etihad |
Looking ahead to the highly
anticipated round of 16 fixture tonight, hosts City miss Argentine hit-man
Sergio Aguero, who is out due to a hamstring injury. Brazilian midfielder
Fernandinho returns from a muscle injury and is likely to pair up with former
Barcelona man Yaya Toure in a midfield pivot.
Center back Matija Nastasic has
also been sidelined due to a knee injury, while the returns of Frenchman Samir
Nasri and Javi Garcia offer enough bench strength for a tie that is bound to
require an awful lot of hard work from the Mancunian side.
As for the visitors, Gerardo
Martino has no major injury concerns, with all of their first team members fit
for the game.
As far as tactics are concerned,
City will look to use home comforts to their advantage by lining up in an
attacking 4-2-3-1 with Alvaro Negredo leading the line in absence of the
injured Aguero. David Silva could play in the hole behind the striker in a role
that he has not played very often this season. The Spanish playmaker is usually
deployed on the wings with his tendency to drift towards the center, there by
opening up spaces on the wings for the full backs to utilize. With Samir Nasri
returning from injury and combining brilliantly with Silva against Chelsea last
time out, he could very well be positioned in Silva’s usual place on the left.
Navas, on the other hand will ply his trade on the right hand of The Citizen’s
attack using his speed and dribbling to make the most of his crossing ability and
Negredo’s physical presence in the box.
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| Silva and Nasri hold the key to City's play in midfield and will have to link in the absence of star man Aguero |
A variation to the above
mentioned strategy could very well be used in the presence of Eden Dzeko, albeit from
the bench. The impact the Bosnian striker makes as a substitute is well
documented, and if needed, Pellegrini could also opt for 4-4-2 with Dzeko and
Negredo both deployed upfront.
With Yaya Toure and Fernandinho
playing as central midfielders, Barcelona will certainly have a tough midfield
battle on their hands. The pair has developed a formidable partnership at the
heart of City’s play by showing tremendous understanding between them. Their measured
runs ahead to support the attack are often made responsibly by making sure one
stays behind to shield the defense as the full backs also move forward to add width to their attack.
As far as the Catalans are
concerned, they usually deploy is a 4-3-3 with Sergio Busquets as the player
given the responsibility of breaking up opposition play in midfield. Flanked by
Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas, who can both be classified as more attacking
than defensive, Busquets alone might have a tough time at hand facing the duo
of Tour and Fernandinho, while facing additional threat from the centrally
positioned Silva.
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| Busquets and Fabregas have crucial roles to play for Barcelona tonight |
Their attack will consist of a
front three- Leo Messi, Pedro Rodriguez/Neymar and Alexis Sanchez alongside Jordi Alba and Dani
Alves in defense, but who will also bombard forward at every opportunity. As far as their play is
concerned, Martino’s arrival has led them moving the ball a bit faster up the
pitch as compared to last few seasons. Their movement off the ball remains
lethal enough to cause damage out of nowhere, while their midfield is working
those intricate passes to draw opposition defenders out of position, which then
frees space for their forwards to run into.
A certain weak point for the
visitors is their defense consisting of former Manchester United star Gerrard
Pique and Javier Mascherano. Pique is the more experienced defender out of the
two, but inconsistencies in his game have put doubts over his reliability as a top draw
defender. Mascherano, on the other hand has little pace to cope with the likes
of Negredo and is certainly in for a tough night at The Etihad.
Overall, on paper at least, both sides
look competent enough to get the better of the other over this two-legged tie
not to mention certain weaknesses, which the opposition managers will look to
exploit.
By,
Aman Arora
Aman writes for 18YB. Comment below or discuss with the author on Twitter at @aman_ghsPreview:
