Barcelona Vs City Pre Match Thread

[uwe rosler 28]

Surely Clichy will start ;o)

He would if not suspended!

Really ?? I never knew that, why is that then ?

Haha

 

[PragueBlue]

..............................Hart

Sagna.....Kompany....Mangala...Zaba

..............Fernando...Fernandinho

Navas................Silva..................Milner

..........................Aguero

 

[cleavers]

..............................Hart

Sagna.....Kompany....Mangala...Zaba

..............Fernando...Fernandinho

Navas................Silva..................Milner

..........................Aguero

No chance he'll play Zab on the left, can't see Navas starting either.

 

[PragueBlue]

..............................Hart

Sagna.....Kompany....Mangala...Zaba

..............Fernando...Fernandinho

Navas................Silva..................Milner

..........................Aguero

No chance he'll play Zab on the left, can't see Navas starting either.

I don't expect him to choose that line up (though he's played Zabaleta at LB before). It's more one that I would go with. A team that would be set up to work hard and play on the break. Hopefully keep us in the game and nick a goal on the break. Yaya and Nasri available to come on if we need to chase the game later on.

I worry that if we go with Yaya and one of the Fs in midfield that we may be out of it before we really get started.

 

[cleavers]

Looks like Zab might be playing anyway (I doubt he'd be the 'player' to give an interview if he wasn't)......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31917679

Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta thinks they can knock Barcelona out of the Champions League and reignite their Premier League bid in the process.

City lost 1-0 to Burnley on Saturday, are six points behind Chelsea, and go to the Nou Camp on Wednesday needing to overturn a 2-1 deficit in the last 16.

"It's not going to be easy, but nothing is impossible in football. You have to be ready for these moments," Argentine Zabaleta said.

"Things can change on games like this."

On the back of defeat to the Clarets, he added: "It's good that we have this game after just three days. We need to recover well, go to Barcelona and see what we can do. Hopefully we can do it."

Luis Suarez scored twice at the Etihad Stadium in the first leg, with Sergio Aguero giving City hope.

Zabaleta takes confidence from Paris St-Germain, who scored late goals to beat Chelsea, and Schalke, who came within a goal of knocking out Real Madrid after losing the first leg 2-0.

"If you look at the game Real Madrid played against Schalke and the same with Chelsea and PSG, it shows anything can happen in football," he said.

"That's why we need to go to Barca with confidence, with belief and try to do our best to win that game.

"We have played in this competition for four years. It's a competition we want to make progress in."

 

[Sergio Picasso Aguero]

Team picks itself.


Hart

Zabaleta - Kompany - Mangala - Kolarov

Fernandinho - Yaya Touré

Nasri - Silva - Milner

Aguero

 

[pudge]

..............................Hart

Sagna.....Kompany....Mangala...Zaba

..............Fernando...Fernandinho

Navas................Silva..................Milner

..........................Aguero

Fuck that for a laugh.

Fernando over an available Yaya?

 

[bluefn]

We will play 4-4-2. Don't worry about that.

The mentality of this football club is to go toe to toe with the best and try to beat them. If we lose its because they are better than us. Pelligrini pretty much said that in his last interview. Its all about development and becoming what we are trying to beat.

I've been banging on about the brand for a number of weeks now, and I'll stick my tin hat on ready to be shouted down, because I am absolutely certain that we will not change a thing on Wednesday. That is how we roll and I don't hold pelligrini responsible for that. He has chosen to buy into the philosophy so will have to support for as long as it remains or walk away.

Hart
Zaba
Kompany
Demich
Kola
Fernando
Toure
Silva
Milner
Aguero
Dzeko

I fancy this will be the team. It will be soundly beaten. I just hope we show some fucking fight this time.

 

[SkyBlueTX]

Team picks itself.


Hart

Zabaleta - Kompany - Mangala - Kolarov

Fernandinho - Yaya Touré

Nasri - Silva - Milner

Aguero

That would be my team also, but I've quit trying to guess this season in the the CL matches as I'm often perplexed by our tactics.

There are two ways we could play it that would give us a chance, however small, IMO. One is to park the bus and try to hit on the counter. This is unlikely to work with us needing to score two away goals. Probably end 3-1 or 3-2 on aggregate.

The other way we could play it is to press high and attempt to smother Barca in the back before they get the ball to Neymar or Messi. We will have to run around with our hair on fire and be totally committed to make this work.

The worst way we could play is in the lazy, half-arsed "tweener" way we did in the first half of the game at the Etihad which allowed Barca loads of time and space to play champagne football.

Please let us press and buzz around the pitch and make a game of it! Do that and I can accept whatever outcome.

 

[buckshot]

Team picks itself.


Hart

Zabaleta - Kompany - Mangala - Kolarov

Fernandinho - Yaya Touré

Nasri - Silva - Milner

Aguero

My team exactly but I'd replace Kompany with DeMichelis. I haven't given up om Vinny, I just thing he's snake it right now and a captain of his stature can retake his spot when the time is right.