Fresh from victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup, the hosts welcome the Liga giants to the Etihad Stadium, with Gerardo Martino's side in imperious form at the weekend
Manchester City play their first Champions League knockout-stage tie on Tuesday against four-time European champions Barcelona. In what is undoubtedly one of the most
anticipated fixtures of the round of 16, Manuel Pellegrini's City
welcome the Spanish champions to the Etihad Stadium for the first leg.
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17/5
Man City are 17/5 with William Hill to beat Barca as both score
Both sides come into the game off the back of positive domestic
results at the weekend, with City beating Premier League title rivals
Chelsea 2-0 in the FA Cup, while Barcelona hit six past Rayo Vallecano
without reply in La Liga.
With both teams firmly in contention
for their respective domestic titles, City will be particularly buoyed
by their impressive form in this season's Champions League, which saw
them accumulate more points than Gerardo Martino's men in the group
stage.
Despite finishing second in Group D behind holders Bayern
Munich, City were able to beat the German champions and finish on 15
points - two more than Barca gained in Group H.
Pellegrini's
side have failed to win just two of their 20 home games in all
competitions this season and have conceded only 18 times in that run.
City
have scored at least four goals in 12 of those matches, with former
Barca midfielder Yaya Toure enjoying his more advanced role under
Pellegrini.
"At Barcelona it was my job to hold and organise. It
was all about being focused and never losing concentration. Now I can
drop into defence or join the attack," he told Uefa.com.
"I was limited to playing in the middle at Barcelona. I like playing in England because it's an open league and very fast-paced.
"The first two campaigns were difficult, but now everything is going well."
Tweet Patrick Kluivert!
Send your questions to former Barcelona striker Patrick Kluivert via @Heineken using #sharethesofa on Tuesday evening
Despite City making the most of home comforts so far this season, Barca
are likely to offer Pellegrini's charges a stern test when they visit,
having reached at least the semi-final stage on their last six attempts.
Even
with a draw against Milan and defeat to Ajax in the group stage, Barca
topped their group by four points and remain on course for a treble -
having already booked their place in the Copa del Rey final.
With
Tuesday's opponents having averaged three goals a game during their
group campaign, Martino remains confident in his side after Saturday's
comprehensive victory over Rayo.
"We're on form coming into the
match against City, this is the perfect moment to try to qualify for the
quarter-finals," he told Barca's official website.
"Most of the players are playing really well."
Sergio Aguero is likely to miss out for City but Fernandinho could return, while Martino has no injury concerns.
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