Play without fear
Manuel Pellegrini's side have shown time and time again that they can beat anybody at home, claiming big wins over the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and bitter rivals, Manchester United. So when one of the best teams to have ever played come to town, they must be cautious but also play without any fear. Although the English media wrote off their chances of beating the Spaniard's as soon as the draw was made; the Spanish media were also questioning whether their best side could beat City, with headlines saying it's the only team that they didn't want to play, City need to use this their advantage. With most of England not expecting them to win the tie, it is the opposite for Barcelona. After not winning the much coveted trophy last year, their is a great onus on Tata Martino's side to claim the gold that they have grasped four times before.
The first leg is key
With the first leg being at the Etihad Stadium, City need a result and by that I mean a win, they need to take something that they can protect over to Spain to stand any chance of winning the tie. They do not want to be chasing the game before they even start at the Camp Nou as it won't work. You're playing against a style of play that gives you limited opportunities at goal. When Chelsea were successful against Barcelona on their way to winning the trophy, they took a 1-0 lead over to Spain and played counter attacking football which saw them exploit the Spanish giants, and pick up a 2-2 draw which saw them go through to the final that year.
Exploit their weaknesses
Barcelona have been leaking goals away from home recently, especially from set pieces, the most recent example of defensive frailties in their side came in their 1-1 draw against Levante earlier this evening, conceding first, from a corner. Manchester City have to look at this and try and exploit the team from Catalonia with their aerial threats such as Vincent Kompany and former Barcelona midfielder, Yaya Toure. If and when City get a corner or a free kick in a dangerous position, they will have to make the most of it.
1st leg
Manchester City are the favourites for the home tie, but only just. If they can replicate their recent Premier League form into the Champions league then their is no question of whether they can take a lead over to Spain.
1st leg Prediction:
Manchester City 3-1 Barcelona
2nd leg
At the Camp Nou it's a different story, City need to defend, and defend well. Barcelona will keep the ball and attack whenever they can but if City do defend well and perhaps score on the counter, they can again cause the Spanish giants problems.
2nd leg Prediction:
Barcelona 4-2 Manchester City
Aggregate: 5-5 with the English side going through on away goals.
