UEFA Champions League 2016-17: 5 things to look forward to from Barcelona vs Manchester City
It’s going to be a sold-out Nou Camp on Wednesday night as Pep Guardiola returns to the ground where he enjoyed many successful moments as a fan, player and manager of Barcelona. He will be desperate to repeat those moments but this time as Manchester City manager
His side will be looking to get their first victory in four games after dropping points in the Premier league against Spurs and Everton, along with their 3-3 stalemate against Celtic in their last Champions League fixture.
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Barcelona, on the other hand, sits pretty at the top of the table with six points, two ahead of their English opponents. The good news for the home team heading into today’s game is their star player Lionel Messi has been declared fit just in time to lead Barcelona’s charge against City.
For many reasons, this is probably the most anticipated clashes in the Champions league, so without further ado, let’s look at the 5 interesting things to look forward to from the match.
#1 Can Pep Guardiola come out on top at the Nou Camp?
When Pep Guardiola made his debut in the opposition dugout at the Nou Camp, 18 months ago, his Bayern Munich team fought tooth and nail but capitulated to the Spanish giants in the final minutes. The man who led the Catalan club to 14 of 19 possible titles in four seasons will visit his boyhood club on Wednesday, but this time, he will be at the helm of Manchester City.
The two-time Premier League Champions have lost all four of their last five Champions league meetings against Barcelona and Guardiola himself tasted defeat over two legs in the Semifinal with Bayern Munich in 2015.
With everything in favour of Luis Enrique’s men ahead of the highly anticipated clash at the Nou Camp, Pep Guardiola has warned Barcelona by saying that he is going all out for a victory on Wednesday.
"I have never thought about the next game thinking a draw would be a good result," said Guardiola after a 1-1 stalemate against Everton.
"Of course it is complicated. No win in Glasgow means we have to take points off Barcelona there or here [at the Etihad], and especially in Germany [against Borussia Monchengladbach] as well. “
He continued by saying, "We have four games left, we have to win two. We have to make six points to be in the next step. We are going to try to win the first points in the next game. That is for sure."