Champions League Preview and Odds - Manchester City vs Barcelona

Published on: 31/10/2016

Champions League Preview and Odds - Manchester City vs Barcelona

November 01, 2016 19:45pm - Etihad Stadium

Champions League - Group Stage

Manchester City will look to end Barcelona`s perfect record in this year`s Champions League campaign when the sides meet at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.

City back to winning ways at the weekend

Pep Guardiola has come through his first sticky patch in charge of Manchester City relatively unscathed. Despite a run of six games without a win, his team are still at the top of the Premier League and well-positioned to qualify from their Champions League Group. Perhaps the only real disappointment will have been their premature exit from the EFL Cup at the hands of their city rivals.

The Citizens got back to winning ways in emphatic style at the weekend, triumphing 4-0 away from home against West Bromwich Albion. Next up, is a tough test against the Spanish boss`s old team. When the sides met at the Camp Nou just a couple of weeks ago, it was Barcelona who came out on top, cruising to a 4-0 victory. In that game, the English team were a good match for their opponents in the first half but were hampered by the dismissal of goal keeper Claudio Bravo after the break.

The Sky Blues will now get a chance to avenge that defeat in front of their home crowd. However, they have yet to beat or even draw against the Catalan club in five previous competitive meetings.

Meanwhile, Barcelona have yet to drop appoint in this year`s Champions League campaign. In the three matches they have played, they have scored 13 goals and conceded just once. They have only been beaten twice in their last 12 Champions League away matches and haven`t lost in England since 2012 when Chelsea beat them 1-0. Team news

The home side will have to make do without the suspended Claudio Bravo, while Fabian Delph (muscle), Pablo Zabaleta (foot) and Bacary Sagna (hamstring) are all out injured.

Jeremey Mathieu will be suspended for the visitors after receiving two yellow cards in the last game - although a groin injury would have probably kept him out anyway. Other Barca absentees include Aleix Vidal (groin), Andres Iniesta (knee), Gerard Pique (ankle) and Jordi Alba (hamstring).

Recent form (All competitions)

Manchester City: WLDLD

Barcelona: WWWWL

Betting odds and tips

Manchester City have yet to beat Barcelona in a competitive match but they were holding their own in the reverse fixture until Claudio Bravo suffered from a momentary lapse of reason.

Barcelona struggled to find a way past lowly Granada at the weekend and will be missing a couple of key players on Tuesday.

This game should be much closer and both teams can be expected to find the net but the Spanish giants should just edge it.

You can back Both Teams to Score and Barcelona to win at 3/1 with Bet365

By Neil Morris

Published on: 31/10/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (31/10/2016 10:34:42) but are subject to change.