Barcelona-Manchester City betting preview
Manchester City flies down to Camp Nou for a must-win pre-quarter game of the UEFA Champions League on this Wednesday. They are down by two goals, after Lionel Messi and co showed their magic at the Etihad Stadium in the first leg match. That magic is now missing in Barca. Still, this is a formidable job for Manuel Pellegrini’s men.
Barcelona has never been appeared this vulnerable in the last few years. Their La Liga results in 2014 look like that of a middling team: five wins, two draws and three defeats. To put this in context, Athletic Bilbao has better results in 2014.
Still, the Catalan outfit has the edge in this match for two things. First, they are sitting on a 2-0 away lead. Second, they are playing at home, where they have lost only one match all through the season.
Manchester City has to launch a devil-may-care attack – like something they have done against Arsenal in their 6-3 win over the Gunners. They need to win by a three-goal margin. But they too, like Barca, are not in the best of shape. They lost out to Wigan in the FA Cup quarterfinals. And they seem to have lost their prolific Premier League form too.
City has the personnel to unsettle Barca. Sergio Agüero and Yaya Touré will be keen to test the recent theories about holes in the Barcelona defence. They have some high-flying Spaniards in their ranks, David Silva, Jesús Navas and Álvaro Negredo, who will be eager to perform well in their homeland.
Barca has the personnel to beat any team. But they need to wake up. Andres Iniesta will miss out due to injury. Alex Song and Jordi Alba too have not been recovered. Still, Messi, Neymar, Alexis Sánchez and Cesc Fábregas are more than a handful for any team.
Barcelona-Manchester City Prediction
A Manchester City win is the least likely, even though they will be inspired by their away defeat of Bayern Munich earlier in the season. Their only earlier visit to Camp Nou for a friendly has resulted in a 1-0 win. Still, Barcelona is likely to emerge victorious.
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