FC Barcelona travel to Manchester City in the Champions League

Barcelona could secure top of the group with a win against Pep Guardiola’s team.

Form

The Catalans are on a four game winning streak going in to this match. This includes the previous fixture between the two teams which Barça won 4-0. Therefore that puts them in good stead for this match because confidence is always high when a team is in good form. In contrast to this, Manchester City come in to this match on mixed form. Their last game against West Brom finished with them being the victors by a 4-0 margin, so it seems like they could be hitting good form again. Prior to this they had been on a six game winless run which is the worst in Guardiola’s career. However, they played well in the majority of those games, and their performance didn’t necessarily translate across to the results.

Squads

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Barcelona have quite a few absences for this match due to injury which has led to some Barça B players being called up. Usual starters who are missing because of injury are Andrés Iniesta, Gerard Piqué and Jordi Alba. Each of these players will be missed due to the vast experience they each have of games such as this. The other two injured players are Jérémy Mathieu and Aleix Vidal who would have been unlikely to start. Arda Turan returns for this match though which is good news because he provides Luis Enrique with another potential option in midfield to replace the injured Iniesta.

Manchester City have a few injuries to deal with, although their key players are all fit. Fabian Delph and Bacary Sagna are both unavailable to Pep due to muscle and thigh injuries respectively. Pablo Zabaleta could play, but it’s a race against time for him to be fit for the game. Claudio Bravo is also unavailable due to his red card in the previous match between the two teams.

BARCELONA, SPAIN – OCTOBER 15: Arda Turan of FC Barcelona looks on during the warm up prior to the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and RC Deportivo La Coruna at Camp Nou stadium on October 15, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) /

History

There has been five competitive meetings between the two teams with Barcelona winning each one. In four of those games there has been a Manchester City red card, so keeping eleven men on the pitch will be key for Pep. History is on the side of Barca for this game, but City’s performance in the first half of the game two weeks ago will fill them with confidence especially when they have such a talented coach at the helm.

(l-r) referee Mazic shows red card to Claudio Bravo of Manchester City during the UEFA Champions League group C match between FC Barcelona and Manchester City on October 19, 2016 at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images) /

Playing Style

In the last match, Pep set up his team in an interesting manner because he played an extra midfielder rather than a striker in order to have more control over the game. This was controversial because it meant Sergio Agüero was left on the bench, but it was successful until Claudio Bravo got sent off in the second half. They were able to press the Barcelona defence effectively in this setup, but Kevin De Bruyne’s influence was limited in this role. It’s unlikely that they will setup in a similar manner this time round due to Agüero’s return to form. However, they are still likely to press high up the pitch especially with the current defensive injuries for Barcelona. This will probably be a closer match than last time if City avoid making any stupid mistakes, and home advantage for the Citizens as well.

Prediction: Manchester City 1-2 FC Barcelona

Most likely lineup. Rafinha instead of André Gomes is a strong possibility.