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One of the most anticipated ties in the Champions League Round 16 will take off at Etihad, with Manchester City hosting FC Barcelona for a place in the quarterfinals of the competition.
City has been one of the most dominant forces on home court this season in European football, with their Premier League statistics at Etihad showing 11 wins in 12 matches and a 42-9 goal difference! The hosts did seem to lose some momentum recently, losing to Chelsea 1-0 and drawing 0-0 at Norwich in the space of 5 days, but they quickly recovered to defeat Chelsea 2-0 in the FA Cup on Saturday, with Mourinho`s side barely getting 1 shot on goal. City cruised in the Champions League groups, finishing on 2nd place, tied with Bayern, with 15 points and should be confident of at least seriously challenging Barcelona in this tie.
The Blau Grana received some criticism this season, presumably playing at a lower level than in the last years, but I have to say most of it was truly uncalled form. Indeed, Gerardo Martino did implement a different style of play, with Barca being a little more cautious on defense and passing around less, but the team is still playing top class football. Barcelona is leading the league in Spain (tied with Atletico and Real Madrid) and cruised to the Copa del Rey final and Champions League Round 16, often getting big wins in the process, just like in the Guardiola era. This is hardly a team on a downtrend like some people are suggesting. Barcelona is in good form, winning the last two La Liga games with a combined goal difference of 10-1, but on the other hand lost against Valencia three rounds ago and was not so impressive in an aggregate 3-1 win over Sociedad in the Cup semifinals.
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Team news and lineups.
Manchester City will miss Aguero, Nastasic and Milner for this game, while Barcelona is injury-free and will be able to field the best possible lineup. Aguero is of course a huge loss for City.
Manchester City: Hart – Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy – Garcia, Toure; Milner, Silva, Nasri – Negredo
FC Barcelona: Valdes – Alves, Bartra, Pique, Alba – Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta – Sanchez, Pedro, Messi
I fancy Manchester City to win here, but of course it won`t be easy, with Barcelona being a formidable opponent. Still, the citizens look to be unstoppable at home and they do have the required quality and form to take on any team in the world right now. Barca had some stumbles on the road this season and I expect home court advantage to be a decisive factor in this bet. I would also pay attention to the fact that Pellegrini has a lot of experience in Spain, and that should help the hosts. On the other hand, City misses Aguero, which is a big blow, while Messi seems to have regained his form with 5 goals in the last 3 games. All in all, Manchester City looks like a three headed monster at home and with their improved defense in the last few weeks, they should be able to edge this. My tip is Manchester City with asian handicap 0:0. Prediction: Manchester City – FC Barcelona 2-1.
Pick: Manchester City(+0 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 2.17 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 8.19
Event date: 18 February
