Manchester City vs. Barcelona Champions League 2014-15: Why Barcelona's A Strong Favorite
Barcelona's rematch with Manchester City is a match-up made in heaven for fans.
But not for either team. It is a match-up that took place a year ago when Blaugrana came away 4-1 winners after two grueling games. No one had doubts about which side was better across 180 minutes, but the embarrassment suffered by the English side is likely to fuel the team as it continues its "Cinderella" run.
Barcelona, which has struggled with consistency all season long, may enter the match-up as the favorite, but has the most to lose in the Round of 16 draw. How do these teams actually match up?
Recent History Against Spanish & English Competition
The team's record in the last seven years has been quite good when faced with English sides. Since 2007-08, Blaugrana has encountered English sides eight times in the knockout rounds and has emerged victorious on six of those match-ups. Last year against Manchester City the team won 4-1 on aggregate. In 2010-11, Los Cules took down Arsenal 4-3 on aggregate, and in the same season, the team defeated Manchester United 3-1 in the final. In 2009-10, Arsenal was a victim of Barcelona by a 6-3 aggregate, while the year before Chelsea suffered an away goal in a 1-1 draw in the semifinals. In the 2008-09 final, Barcelona defeated Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United 2-0.
The only two defeats suffered in that span include a 3-2 aggregate defeat against Chelsea in 2011-12 and a 1-0 loss against Manchester United in 2007-08. Consequently, both sides went on to win the trophy in the years they took down the Catalan club.
Aside from its defeat last year against Barcelona, Manchester City has faced Spanish clubs in each of its last two Champions League appearances. In 2011-12, the team fared very well against Villarreal in the group stage by winning 5-1 over two meetings. A year later, the team lost 3-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu before playing Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw at home.
Players to Watch
On Barcelona's end, it will be interesting to see if Luis Suarez can sort his struggles out by this February meeting. Lionel Messi remains the go-to guy for Blaugrana, and the rest of the team is lacking a strong sense of identity. If the trio of Neymar, Suarez and Messi can get going leading up to the game, then there is no way that this team will lose this match-up.
On the other end, Manchester City is hoping that Sergio Aguero is healthy and in form. The team's undisputed MVP is out for a few weeks due to injury, and it will be vital for the team to (a) let him heal fully and (b) learn how to win without him. The Citizens displayed the latter in their dramatic 2-0 win in Rome to quality for these stages. But is it enough?
Barcelona Wins if...
The team's top stars are clicking, and the system is rolling as intended.
Manchester City Wins if...
Sergio Aguero is at his peak and back in dominant form. There are enough supporting players to make this team work, but he needs to be there to make it come together.
X Factors
Suarez must be a dominant force in order to help Messi and Neymar. For Manchester City, it will come down to Yaya Toure playing at his best. When he is on, this team can reach new heights.
Predictions
The two sides battle to a 0-0 draw in the opener at Manchester before Barcelona takes a 2-1 win at home to qualify for the quarterfinals.
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