Barcelona – Manchester City Champions League Match Preview 18/03/15
Barcelona go into the second leg of their tie with City knowing that their opponents have to score at least twice without letting in a single goal to have any chance of progressing. Manuel Pellegrini’s men have to be aggressive while remaining compact enough to deny space to possibly the strongest attacking trio (Neymar, Messi and Suarez) in the world. It really does seem like an impossible task and a defeat here could cost the Chilean manager his job. A sports betting expert would suggest that the visitors have likely left themselves too much to do. Barcelona have only Sergio Busquets and Thomas Vermaelen on their injury list so Dani Alves and Jordi Alba should return to the side in their usual full-back roles having missed out at the weekend through suspension. Mascherano, Iniesta and Xavi were all on the bench for the 2-0 win over Eibar but they are expected to start this one. City’s Yaya Toure returns from suspension but Gael Clichy is out after his red card in the first leg at the Etihad. Still, after their humiliating defeat to Burnley on the weekend has all but handed the Premier League title to Chelsea, Manuel Pellegrini’s long-term future at the club will surely rely on his side’s performance at Camp Nou, and so with that in mind a top pick would be that he will ditch the 4-4-2 formation that has been criticised of late, with the likes of Nasri and Milner in line for a return.
Our Probable Formations:
Barcelona (4.3.3) Ter Stegen, Alves, Piqué, Bartra, Alba, Xavi, Macherano, Iniesta, Suarez, Messi and Neymar.
Manchester City (4.2.3.1) Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Kolarov, Fernando, Touré, Milner, Silva, Nasri and Aguero.
BetAdvisor Top Tips:
A top football prediction would be an Over 2.5 as Barcelona have scored at least 2 goals in their last 6 matches in the Champions League as well as scoring at least 2 goals in their last 3 matches against City.
A professional betting pick will take into consideration that Barcelona have been winning at both half time and full time in their last 5 matches in the Champions League.